Soul Of Steel
by Rebirthing09
Summary: The world is seen so differently through two separate sets of eyes. Good can become evil, and evil can become legitimate. What makes a world so different between two different sides of a war? Is what's right become wrong? No one really knows, except you.
1. Prologue: The Gate

**Soul Of Steel .:FullMetal Alchemist/Harry Potter Sequel:. Prologue: The Gate**

**(Authors Note: This is a Harry Potter fanfic, I promise, the Harry Potter part happens next chapter, this part just needed to be written)**

Edward Elric rested against Lita Nitro's tombstone. The cool air of September was rolling in, a pleasant breeze slipped through the sleeves of Ed's jacket, his arms cooled down unwillingly, but the FullMetal Alchemist didn't take any notice. Everyday before lunch, Ed would leave his office in Central and sit against Lita's tombstone. Of course, her body did not sleep beneath this stone. Her body laid to rest in Risembool, the place she called home, but at the news of her death memorials created by the military were placed all over Amestris. Central, South Headquarters, Lior, Youswell, Ishbal, Xenotime and Aquroya were cities and towns that had Lita Nitro memorials.

Edward had to admit, things were so different now. The State Alchemists and the military were all under the control of the Parliament. Anyone could tell you, Ed had changed immensely, he didn't argue with his higher officers, he didn't bark orders at his battalion. He just didn't care about anything anymore, he was very close to losing his ranking in the military, if it weren't for Mustang's harsh lectures, he would have dropped out already. After Lita's death, his feelings seemed to die as well. He felt sad, yet he didn't cry, he was numb. Ed looked up at the sky, it hadn't rained since Lita died.

"Back again, FullMetal?" Roy Mustang walked through the grass slowly, a bouquet of red roses in one arm.

"You can't really call me that anymore," Ed pulled up his left sleeve, flesh replaced metal. Roy said nothing more, and out of respect Ed rose to his feet, it seemed as though Roy needed some time. Roy made sure the younger Alchemist was out of earshot then looked down at Lita's tombstone.

"Lita, I really don't know what to say," Roy took a deep breath. "I know I don't take the time to stop by Risembool like I should... but things just aren't the same anymore," Roy set the roses down and turned abruptly. "It's all my fault, I'm sorry."

* * *

Darkness, every little kids nightmare, every broken hearts dream. Sunlight never surfacing or receding, it was just nothing. A pair of blank gold eyes waded amongst the darkness, no emotion could be seen from the orbs, they were blank as freshly pressed gold, you couldn't see inside, only your reflection. This was the inside of the Gate, no living creature has ever escaped to tell the horrors within the confines of this sinister structure.

Blindness washed through the gold eyes as they squinted to see past the bright white light. A force seemed to pull the emptiness towards the light, a warm inviting feeling flooded the darkness. The gold eyes allowed the light to pull them in. The black tentacles cowered from the light, and had no affect as the light dimmed. The Gate was engulfed in darkness again, although it was missing an occupant.


	2. Chapter One: Rise And Fall

**Soul Of Steel .:FullMetal Alchemist/Harry Potter Sequel:. Chapter One: Rise And Fall**

The flutter of eyelashes caught the attention of a barn owl. The animal watched as a figure stirred, a figure who hadn't moved in quite a while. The young girl blinked slowly, a hand reached up slowly to touch her temple. The creature stared at her hand in utter amazement, as if this were the first moment, the first second of her life she realized she had hands. She flexed and bended her fingers slowly, only two words leaving her lips. "I'm alive," the girl rolled onto her stomach, pushing herself up onto her hands and knees. She had to grasp the limbs of a tree to stop her knees from shaking.

Lita took the time to look around, she had been all over the world, she remembered every square inch of land she had ever laid eyes on. This place was unfamiliar to her. Something tells me we are not in Amestris anymore," she had no idea how right she was. Her first few steps were shaky, like a newborn baby walking to her father for the first time. The forest was dense, pine needles scraped like sandpaper across her skin. Lita stopped suddenly, looking up at the sky, fear in her eyes. A raindrop hit her cheek, a fear like no other flooded through her body, she hated the rain. A cool sensation circled around her midriff, like a snake made of the coldest arctic ice. A metal tail, like one of a cat wrapped around her waist. "Even in the next life I can't escape this hell."

* * *

A long blond haired, glasses wearing man sat in front of four long tables filled with eating teenagers. A stern woman with a thin mouth looked over at the new Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Hohenheim Elric. Two new students, the sons of the headmaster, were enrolling into the prestigious school of Scotland. They had odd names, then again Hohenheim was hugely interested in the older scientific arts of Alchemy. Wrath and Envy Elric, brothers, yet she had never seen two more different individuals come from the same man. Envy was a crude mouthed seventh year, he had no respect for anyone, especially his father. Wrath on the other hand was a polite, quiet young fourth year who listened to every command his father told him.

Envy and Wrath had been sorted into one of the evilest houses in Hogwarts, Slytherin. Envy fit in perfectly with Draco Malfoy and his 'friends'. The two laughed loudly pointing over at the kids in red and gold. Wrath was sitting at the end of the table, pushing the food around his golden plate. Draco picked up a baby carrot and threw it, the vegetable hit Wrath's temple. The young man's eyes blazed angrily, he looked at his left arm then immediately, his head fell, his bangs falling into his eyes. A pair of green eyes looked on with a small spark of pity.

"Should we invite him over?" A red haired sixth year girl was obviously thinking the same thing the green eyes boy was.

"Why should we?" An older red haired boy snapped as he ripped the meat off a chicken bone.

"Because he looks upset and lonely..." she glared back at her brother as he huffed with an as if attitude. Green eyes returned to the young boy, who had now returned to pushing a small pile of mashed potatoes and peas around his plate. Hohenheim was also looking at the upset expression of his 'son'. The older man knew why the young boy cried, for he had done the same himself.

* * *

Lita stared in utter amazement at the large structure before her. A large, brightly lit castle stood over her, but she didn't get an ominous feeling from this building. In fact, a warm feeling washed through her, like a warm breeze along the ocean coastline. She could feel her body giving out on her, could feel her newly used muscles deteriorating right from under her. A walkway was paved neatly to the two large oak doors that lead to the castle's inside. Her arms burned as her biceps pushed themselves to open the door. There was a vast amount of space inside, the walls and floors were made of gray stone, four hourglasses with tony gems in the upper portion hung on the east wall. A cluster of voices met her ears, they were all coming from a pair of Golden Doors on the left side of the room. Her breathe was slow and heavy, she didn't know if she could make it to the doors. Her feet dragged across the floor, each step felt like an eternity. Instead of getting closer, the doors seemed to be getting farther away. In a last desperate attempt, she reached for the door, her bearings returning to her as her fingertips brushed against the cool metal surface of the door handles.

"I made it," with the last bit of energy she had, Lita pulled open the doors, what met her eyes was yet another sight she would never forget. Hundreds of eyes stared in her direction. Four tables, eight rows of black, all turned in a simultaneous wave.

"Mommy!" The voice was distorted, like she was being talked to, but the other person was at the end of a long tube. And then there was nothing, she didn't feel herself drop to the ground. She didn't see a young boy running towards her, catching her before she hit the ground. She didn't hear him yell her name, pleading with her to wake up. There was just nothing, nothing at all.

* * *

Everything seemed to be going in slow motion. The large golden doors opened with a large boom, Harry turned in time with everyone else. His green eyes grew large, a women, more beautiful then anyone he had ever seen, even Cho, staggered into the Great Hall. Her clothes were torn, caked with blood and dirt. She couldn't hide the pain she was experiencing, but somehow Harry felt as though she was going through much more, he knew she felt a pain so excruciating that no facial expression could depict it. She was exhausted, she didn't even have the energy to speak, her eyes grew glassy, her legs gave out on her. "Mommy!" Wrath jumped up, running to the girl, catching her just before she hit the ground. The young boy shook her, almost violently, attempting to wake her up. The next sequence of events happened so fast, that if you had blinked, you would have missed it. Both Envy and Hohenheim had jumped up. Hohenheim ran to the girl, picking her up bridal style and carried her out of the hall. Wrath and Envy followed their father out through the doors. Madame Pomfrey stood up as well and quickly ran out of the hall.

"Whoa," was all Ron could say.

"Could you be a bit more sensitive?" Hermione rolled her eyes as Ron merely shrugged.

"Did you see that girl? Weird chick..."

"Ron, she was hurt," one of the few times in his life, Harry was annoyed with his best friend.

"I wasn't talking about that. I mean, she had those metal ears on her head. Real freak show," Harry ducked under the table, now he needed to know more about this girl. "Where are you going?" Harry reached for his bag, pulling out a beautiful, silvery gray cloak.

"I need to know who she is," the green eyes boy draped the cloak over his head, and Ron could no longer see him, he had become invisible. Harry slipped out of the Great Hall, no one had noticed he was missing. It took four sets of stairs to reach the hospital wing, when he walked in Madame Pomfrey was leaning over the girl, who was still unconscious.

"She's going to be okay, Hohenheim," Professor Elric didn't seem to be concerned. "She just tired herself out. She must have walked a long distance to get here."

"I've never been away from home before. My daughter and I have never been apart this long. She more then likely walked all the way here just to be with me," so, she was his daughter, that did make since. "Can you excuse us?"

"Of course, I'll alert the rest of the staff," Harry dodged the magical nurse as she hurried out the door.

"Now she's your daughter!" Envy screamed at Hohenheim, his face red with anger.

"I had to tell them something, and I don't know the whole truth. But what I can guess, she came through the Gate."

"How the hell else could she have gotten here?" Hohenheim looked sternly at Envy, he had never expected this to happen, and for the first time in his life, he didn't know what to do.

"Why does she look so different" Hohenheim looked at her more closely. She was blonde now, those damn cat ears still attached to her skull. Hohenheim leaned over and pulled open one of her eyelids, her eyes were still a gorgeous silver color, but they were blank, nearly dead-like. Her skin was pale, as if blood hadn't met her cheeks in ages. Her muscle tone had depleted considerably, Hohenheim didn't even know if this was in fact her body.

"I don't know, Wrath. Many thing won't be answered until she wakes up," he stepped back. "There's nothing more we can do here," Envy stormed out angrily, Wrath turn around one last time before closing the door behind him. Harry had no idea what he had just seen. Different? The Gate? He had so many new questions. He walked closer to the bed, staring at the beautiful girl before him. He lowered the cloak a it, and he reached out, brushing her golden bangs out of her face. Her eyelids fluttered, gorgeous silver eyes stared up at him.

* * *

Lita looked up slowly, a beautiful boy, with neon green eyes stared back at her.

"Am I in heaven?" Her voice was low and hoarse, she truly believed she was in heaven, and a beautiful angel was staring back at her. The angel looked shocked, and suddenly, he was gone. Lita blinked and looked around, but the angel was nowhere to be seen. She rested her head against the soft pillow, dreaming of a green eyed angel, with a lightening bolt shaped scar on his forehead.


	3. Chapter Two: My Return To Life

**Soul Of Steel .:Chapter Two:. My Return To Life**

The last three days had been absolute chaos. Not only did Hohenheim have to teach a subject he had been taught to hate his entire life. But he also had to ensure the safety of hundred of students and staff members. Since the death of Dumbledore and the continuing rise of Lord Voldemort, the Gryffindors and the Slytherins fought harder then ever. But something was always on the back of his mind, then again how could it not? Everyday there was a handful of students who faked injuries to attempt to see Lita in the hospital wing.

Lita still hadn't woken up, Madame Pomfrey suggested moving her to St. Mungo's Hospital, but Hohenheim wouldn't have that. He wanted her with him, it was his job to protect her now.

* * *

Harry sat awake in bed three days later, he looked over at his invisibility cloak again. He wanted so badly to go down to the hospital wing. His mind wouldn't leave the blond haired cat-girl, no matter how hard he tried to think about something else. He didn't even know why he couldn't stop thinking about her. Probably because she was hurt, and he wanted to make sure she was okay. But why did he care if some unknown girl was lying in a hospital bed or not? I mean, she meant nothing to him, they had never even spoken to each other.

"Harry? Shouldn't you be sleepin', mate? We have class tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I know... Ron, do you remember the girl that collapsed in the Great Hall on Sunday?"

"The cat chick? How could I not? People around here won't shut up about her. Why? Is that who you're thinkin' about?" Harry blushed, not knowing if Ron could tell through the darkness. "Don't worry, mate. I'm sure she'll be all right if that's what you're worrying about," Harry laid back in bed, Ron was probably right. She'd be all right, nothing to worry about, he hoped.

* * *

Lita shook her head very slowly, everything, every inch of her body was aching. She could feel it, new muscle was forming in every crevice of her body, muscle she needed. She sat up slowly, raising her arms, popping her shoulders. Someone in the room gasped and her neck snapped in the direction of the voice. An older woman with graying hair under a white bonnet stared at Lita in utter amazement. "Miss Elric...you're awake," Lita was now unbelievably confused. How did this woman know the name Elric? Was Ed here? No, that couldn't be possible. "I have to inform him straight away," before she could ask any questions, the women scurried out the door.

"What the hell...?" Lita had no idea what to think. First she waked up, in what looks like a hospital, then a women she didn't know called her Miss. Elric. Little did she know that all of her questions would be answered in one sight. The woman had returned, but someone was following her, Hohenheim Elric.

"What the hell are you doing here?" The women was instructed to leave, which she did so reluctantly.

"Lita, calm down."

"How do you expect me to calm down?! Where am I?! How did you survive?"

"All of your questions will be answered if you stay quiet," Lita glared at him, but stayed silent. "Lita, you may not believe everything I am about to tell you. Our Alchemy, in Amestris, is activated by the deaths of people in this world. This, Lita, is the other side of the Gate. But instead of using Alchemy, they use magic."

"What?! But..." Hohenheim held up his hand.

"This world has a different set of rules then ours did. Lita, this is a school for witches and wizards, we train them here. You don't have too, but I advice you to enroll, you'll be staying here so I can keep and eye on you."

"I'm not staying here."

"Where will you go?" Lita looked down at her hands. He was right, she had no where else to go. "I'm not asking you to change your ways. I just want you to give it a chance," his voice was soft, like a father giving his daughter advice.

"Why did that woman call me Miss Elric?"

"Everyone here believes you're my daughter, because that is what I told them. I needed a story so people wouldn't ask questions."

"Why would you tell them that? You never thought I was a daughter to you, even when I was a kid. I heard you talking to Roy Mustang when you came back. You said you never saw me as your daughter, and you never will," Lita didn't want to hear anymore. She laid down, rolling onto her side, her back facing Hohenheim. The pain they both felt was the same, but they couldn't feel each others pain, only their own. Hohenheim bowed his head in shame.

"I hurt you, Lita. I understand that, and I know this won't take away the pain I caused you. But I'm sorry," and with that he left her alone, left her to think about who she once was, and who she could become.

* * *

Hohenheim hadn't come to visit Lita since she had first woken up. Instead a stern woman had come to see her. Her name was McGonagall and she had walked in carrying an old wizards hat. She explained that the 'Sorting Hat' would put her into a house in the school that would be like her family for the remainder of the year. There was only one thing Lita could think, this lady was crazy. She set the old ratted hat on her head and waited. Lita jumped when the voice of a wise older man spoke into her ears.

"Had your doubts, didn't you? You have to keep an open mind around these halls, or you'll be caught off guard to many times. An open mind will keep you alive... I've never seen anyone like you here. You have no magical abilities, but you're enrolling into the best school for magical learning in the world. By special request of the new headmaster I assume. I also sorted two of his sons, same situation as you. But I see something different in you, I don't see that same soulless evil. In fact, you're very determined, extremely intelligent and loyal. It's very hard to find those qualities in one person anymore. Welcome to Gryffindor!" The stern woman cracked a smile as she lifted the Sorting Hat off of Lita's head.

"Is that good?"

"In my opinion, yes. But that's only because I'm the Head of House for Gryffindor," she turned away, looking at the sun for moment. "It's almost time for lunch, there are clothes on the side table, I'll inform your father of the decision," and with that she left. Lita got up and stretched... Two sons... Ed and Al?! No, that couldn't be possible. She had died and was in a completely different world. And if Lita was there, and Ed knew about it, wouldn't he have come to see her? So, who were the two sons the hat was talking about? Something caught her eye as she took off her hospital shirt. There was a tattoo on her right shoulder, it was the head of a green dragon with three eyes. This definitely, was not her old body... so then, who's body was it. Lita quickly got dressed and walked out the door, something hit her, she had no idea where she was going... She leaned over the marble railing of a staircase. A group of giggling girls in blue several floors down were walking towards a pair of golden doors.

"Golden doors..." Lita stepped onto the staircase and looked up, miles of staircases were above her, and they were moving. Lita stared in amazement, this place really was magical. Quickly, she ran down several set of stairs before she finally reached the Golden Doors.

"Mommy!" That was the first thing she heard when she walked through the doors. A long black haired boy ran to her, wrapping his arms around her waist, burying his head into her breasts. "Mommy, I missed you so much," Lita stood there shocked... Wrath? But he was still alive when she died. Slowly, she wrapped an arm around Wrath's back.

"When are you going to grow up? She's not your mother, you don't have one!" Lita stopped, frozen in place. Slowly, she looked up. A tall young man with dark green hair stared back at her, a smirk plastered on his face. "Pleasure to see you again, Lita. How's Edward?" It was then, that she changed, from a pretty young lady, into a savage animal. The anger she felt for Envy was unmatched, and he had just pushed her over the edge.

"You son of a bitch!" Lita pushed Wrath to the ground and ran at Envy, her bicep rammed into his chest, both of them falling onto a table. Her fists slammed into Envy's face as she straddled his waist. He pulled his arms up, protecting his face but she wouldn't stop, she couldn't stop. A pair of arms circled around her waist and pulled her off of Envy. Lita fought against them, desperately trying to get back at Envy. She screamed, pure hatred and pain filled the room. "I hate you!" Envy jumped up and ran at her, his shoulder ramming right into her gut, sending her backwards, onto whoever was holding her.

"Petrificous Totalous!" Envy seemed to lock up, his arms stuck to his sides, he crashed to the ground. "That's enough!" Hohenheim walked in, holding what looked like a stick. "Envy, my office now!" He waved the stick and Envy was able to move once ore, Hohenheim lifted him up and they walked out of the doors, Hohenheim didn't even acknowledge she was there. Lita quickly turned herself over, her arms on either side of a boy. Black hair stuck up all over his head, his eyes were closed, his breathing was steady.

"I am so sorry, are you okay?" She laid a hand on his shoulder, shaking his gently. He opened his eyes slowly, and she almost jumped back. His eyes were a gorgeous neon green, like the angel had in her dreams. He stared at her for moment.

"Am I in heaven?"


	4. Chapter Three: To A Friend

**Soul Of Steel .:Chapter Three:. To A Friend**

**(Authors Note: I have made five music videos for Soul Of Steel so far. Here is the most recent one, which was finished late last night, please post a comment on how you like or dislike it, thank you very much! Just go to Youtube and search AGreenSandStorm, subscribe to my videos for more!)**

Lita sat in the Gryffindor Common Room. She hadn't seen the green eyed boy since he had ran from the Great Hall. She wanted to see him again, she wanted to thank him, and she wanted to know his name. She would wait here all morning if she had too, he had to leave eventually. Men were always hungry, and breakfast was about to start soon. A quiet pair of footsteps coming from her left caught Lita's attention. The green eyed boy walked down the stairs, straightening his red and gold tie. He looked right at her and froze. "Looks like you finally caught me..."

"Yeah..." There was an awkward silence, she had forgotten everything she had planned to say. "Look, um, I just wanted to say thank you for pulling me off of Envy. If you hadn't... I probably would have killed him. You don't have to say anything, a guy like you probably has better things to do then talk to a freak like me..."

"No, it's not like that."

"Then why have you been avoiding me?" She felt hated, inferior, right now all she wanted was to be accepted by someone, she wanted a friend.

"I just felt like such an idiot for what I said in the Great Hall. I thought that you thought I was dumb, and that you probably didn't want to see me again..."

"Guess we both were wrong... so why don't we start over?" Lita stood up and walked over to him. "Hi, I'm Lita Elric," she smiled, thanking whoever was watching above that she didn't say Nitro.

"I'm Harry Potter..." he seemed to be waiting for something, like a shocked reaction, but Lita only shook his hand.

"Were you expecting something else?" Harry scratched the back of his head and blushed.

"Oh... no. It's just most people know who I am and get all excited..."

"Hi, I'm new. Why are you famous or something?"

"Something like that..."

"Cool, I get to say that I know a famous person!" Harry smiled, he was liking this girl more and more the longer he talked to her. She was just so sweet and funny and she had such a pretty smile.

"Do you wanna come have breakfast with me and my friends?" Harry's eyes grew wide, had those words just left his mouth?! He looked at her quickly, she was smiling, and she quickly nodded when she noticed him looking at her.

"I'd really like that, Harry, thank you."

* * *

Lita watched as Harry sat with his friends, everyone talking together. They all knew each other, they all liked each other, it was like a little family.

Ron Weasley - was a loud mouthed seventh year who had an opinion on everything and ate way too loud. But he was also very funny and very friendly, the big brother kind of friend who could be picking on you one minute and helping you bury a body the next.

Hermione Granger - extremely intelligent, but also very nosy. The second she had sat down, she started asking Lita a whole bunch of questions. But Lita had to admit, she had learned more from talking to Hermione in fifteen minutes then she had in fifteen years of studying.

Seamus Finnigan - Lita would laugh years later thinking about Seamus. He had tried to get Lita's attention by trying to turn his pumpkin juice into alcohol. Needless to say, it didn't work, instead the drink blew up in his face, sending pumpkin juice everywhere.

Neville Longbottom - Lita really liked this boy. He was very sweet, and very respectful, yet very shy. Whenever Lita would turn to look at him, he would lean into his plate, or take a long drink from his golden goblet.

Dean Thomas - Seamus and Dean were obviously best friends. He was also very polite to Lita, looking straight at her, listening intently whenever she spoke.

Ginny Weasley - Lita smiled at the beautiful red head sitting next to her. Ginny reminded Lita a lot of herself, except Lita was a little more... extreme then she was... but Ginny seemed to like Lita a lot, and she had to admit, she liked her too.

"Move it, freak!" Lita turned around, Envy was standing beside a blond Ravenclaw, who was on the ground, holding her wrist, it was evident that Envy had knocked her out of his way.

"Don't do it, Lita," that was one thing Lita wouldn't tolerate. Envy could beat on her all he wanted, but to hurt someone else was going over the line. Lita stood up, catching Envy's attention.

"You ready for round two?" Lita didn't reply, she merely walked up to Envy, stopping centimeters away from him. She stared up at him, no expression on her face, she was not intimidated by the size difference. The Gryffindors stared, waiting for someone to make a move. Harry reached for his wand, if Envy even though about touching her, he would curse him without batting an eye. Envy scoffed and turned around, an with cat-like quickness turned back around and punched Lita with his right fist, but she was quicker. Lita grabbed his fist with her right hand and pushed his fist back. He grunted with effort, attempting to prove that he was stronger. Harry watched, his mouth open, as she pushed his fist back, with such it looked like she wasn't even trying, Envy was grunting, sweat dripping from his brow. Lita kept her face straight, squeezing his fist aggressively, his knuckles cracked as she pushed his fist back, he glared at her angrily. Envy's knuckles were black and blue, resting useless against his side. "Bitch," and he walked away, fuming at being outmatched. A burst of applause broke out among the Gryffindors, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs.

"Thank you," Lita pulled the blond girl up and smiled at the cheering students. This was a step on the road to acceptance. Lita looked over at Harry, who was clapping, he smiled at her and winked, he looked so proud of her.

* * *

A pair of light blue eyes stared at the cat-girl. She had just displayed an incredible show of strength and quickness. The boy turned to his dark haired friend, who was clapping along with everyone else. "It seems Berstinatrix was right, she might just be the one."

"Do you really think so?!" A dark haired girl looked at her leader in surprise. He blinked slowly, he was obviously thinking.

"I don't know for sure... I'd have to... investigate this matter more fully until I make a decision, excuse me..." the young man stood up and slowly walked over to Lita as she sat down next to Harry Potter.

* * *

"Are you all right, Luna?" Ginny asked as Luna took a seat next to her.

"Quite all right, actually," Harry looked up suddenly, catching Lita's attention, she turned around. A boy about Harry's age stared at her with light blue eyes, she noted his tie was red and gold, he was a Gryffindor.

"That was pretty cool, you standing up to that new Slytherin. He needed to be put in his place."

"Thanks," Lita didn't know how to act to this new person. He had a presence around him, he was like one of those bikers in the movies. The kind that rode into town and drove out with the pastors daughter, the girl in town who was notorious for being the perfect little angel in pigtails and listened to her fathers every command.

"Jake Wolf," he shook her hand.

"Lita Elric," he smiled.

"I know who you are, everyone here does."

"Really, well it looks like I'm stealing your spotlight, Harry."

"Oh, take it, please," Lita giggled at Harry softly, she knew what it was to be famous, and she didn't like it sometimes either. Lita looked back to Jake, but he had disappeared. Lita turned to look at the group, who hadn't seemed to notice. She glanced down at her plate, people had a knack for disappearing when she looked away here...

* * *

"Well?" Jake looked over, resting against the wall, arms crossed, his friend had his eyes close, head bent.

"Why do you insist on asking? You all ready know what I'm thinking," his friend smirked knowingly.

"Yes, that is quite true... but I' rather hear you say it."

"Find the headmaster, she is the one we've been searching for," the young man opened his eyes, he looked at Jake and smiled, showing off a pair of gleaming white fangs.


	5. Chapter Four: Inspect Me

**Soul Of Steel (Chapter Four) Inspect Me**

Hohenheim stared at the young boy before him, he didn't want to believe what he was hearing. p

"You want my daughter?" The young man nodded slowly. "But she's so young, so new to this magical concept. Why her? There are so many talented witches and wizar enrolled in this school. Why not choose one of them?" The boy tilted his head from side to side, slowly contimplating an answer. p

"We have our reasons, headmaster. Unless you mistrust my judgement..." he turned his back, ready to walk out the door. p

"No, I trust your judgement. Do what you must, just go easy on her," the boy chuckled softly. p

"I'm sorry headmaster, I can't promise I'll be... gentle with your... daughter..." Hohenheim stared at the back of the young man's head. "You know how much I love the initiation process..." he smiled, his white fangs gleaming in the light of the torches hanging on the wall. p

-- p

Lita stared out at the open lake that touched the Hogwarts Grounds. A pretty blond girl with a pair of metal cat ears and a nice little shoulder tatoo stared back at her from the crystal blue water. Lita remembered the last time she had dyed her hair blonde. It was when she, Ed and Al were on the run from the military and the Homunculi. They disguised themselves so they could board a train and ride somewhere safe. But that had all been in vain. Lita picked up a rock and chucked it into the Lake angrily. She panted, but not from exhaustion, but because she was furious. She had died, to keep Ed and Al safe and together. But she didn't even know if they were all right, they had no way of knowing she was alive on this side of the Gate. She didn't know if her sacrifice had even wroked. She didn't know anything, and she hated it. p

Lita sat back down, putting her knees to her chest. She chuckled, it was so weird how the human mind worked. She had just spent the last to days with Harry, and every second she was with him, she never thought about Ed. Whenever she was with Harry, she never thought about Ed. Whenever she was with Hary, he made her forget about her entire past, she could onyl concentrate on him. He made her live in the now, but whenever she would lay in bed, or just sit alone, her mind would always return, to the night she died. She couldn't forget it, she would never be able to forget it, for as long as she continued to live. Something slammed into her cheek, her skin was pushed into her jaw bone, and suddenly it stopped. She glared at the pain and she looked down, the rock she had just thrown, now soaked with water lay on the ground beside her. p

"What the hell?" Lita stared out into the lake, what looked like a tenticale slipped back into the water, leaving only a ripple behind it. Her brow scrunched in confusion at what she had just seen. That couldn't have been what she had just seen. That couldn't have been what she had thought she just saw. "I need to get out of the sun..." Lita froze, an aggressive growl catching her ears. She turned her head, cat ears lowering at what she saw. At the edge of the thick forest she woke up in, was a snow white wolf. The animal was staring at her, ears up, eyes staring at her. The wolf was gorgeous, fur white as freshly fallen snow, mis-matched eyes of blue and gold, demanding power, respect and authority. Cat and Wolf stared at each other, until the wolf closed it's eyes, bowed it's head and walked backwards into the shadows, never turning it's back on her. p

--p

Lita sat next to Harry at the Gryffindor Table in the Great Hall. She wanted so badly to ask Harry about the tenticale and the wolf. She wanted to know if these things were natural occurances around here. p

"Is everything all right, Lita?" Lita looked over at Harry, his green eyes shining with concern. p

"Harry?" She knew she had his attention, for he set down his silverware and turned his body towards her. "I was down at the Lake shore today... is there anything in the Black Lake?" Harry chuckled softly. p

"Yes... there are a lot of things in the Lake. Why?" Harry obviously wanted to know why she cared. p

"Well, I was skipping rocks and what looked like a tenticale came out the water and threw the rock back at me," Harry then began to laugh. "Shut up it wasn;t funny, it kind of hurt actually," after a moment Harry finally settled down. p

"That's the Giant Squad for you," Lita stared at Harry, unbelievably confused. There are lots of things in the Black Lake, including a Giant Squid... no one has ever actually seen it, mind, but we know it's there..." p

"So... mermaids?" p

"Yeah... but I'm sure they aren't like the one's you're thinking of..." Lita smiled to herself, this place was amazing, it was like she was on the inside of a fairytale novel, filled with fairies, dragons and unicorns. It brought her back to her youth, where Snowcones and lollipops were the holiest treats on Earth, when she saw the world thought the eyes of a child. Believing in everything and knowing nothing at all. "Everything okay?" Harry's pinky burshed against hers gently, she looked into those beatiful green eyes, Harry looked away quickly, pulling his hand back as if he had been burned. p

"No, everything's great..." a blond girl, who looked a bit younger than Harry walked by the table. She had on air around her, a bad one, which confused Lita, since most Gryffindow's had a good air about them. p

"Good morning, Harry," she said nothing to Lita, but continued down the table, her nose in the air, Harry seemed to shiver in disgust. p

"Who's that?" p

"Romilda Vane... proofs that all Gryffindors aren't as justifying as everyone would like to think..." Lita looked behind her, her mouth nearly fell open. A boy about her age stood behind her, white shirt unbuttoned a little, gold and red tie loosened, several pentagram necklaces resting against his chest. A black and white bandana covered his short black hair, bright blue eyes glinting happily. "Silo Mothmordem, hi new girl," she shook his hand and he nodded to Harry respectivly. p

"New girl, my new respective surname!" A dark haired girl with a distant look in her eye and a skipping borwn haired girl stood by Silo's side. p

"Hey, Silo, who's this?" p

"Lita, I'd like you to meet two of my friend, Shadow and this is Jholise Hildon, ladies this Lita." p

"Nice to meet you..." Shadow nearly shook Lita's hand so hard her body shook, Jholise didn't even shake her hand. Lita wasn't offended, she wasn't being pompous, she just felt uncomfortable about the situation. Lita watched as they both sat next to Silo. p

"I have to go to class, I'll see you later, Lita..." his voice was slow, almost robotic, he stood suddenly and walked out of the Hall. Lita's heart almost stopped, she had forgotten to talk to McGonagall about her schedule. p

"Here... McGonagall wanted me to give you this," Silo handed her a piece of parchement as if he had read her mind. There was a long list of classes in swirly letters on the parchement. 'Please circle the class courses you wish to participate in.' p

Defense Against The Dark - Hohenheim Elric br

Tranfiguration - Minerva McGonagall br

Herbology - Pomona Sprout br

Charms - Filius Flitwick br

Divination - Firenze and Sybll Trelawny br

Potions - Horace Slugorn br

Care Of Magical Creatures - Rubues Hagrid br

Muggle Studies - Charity Burbage br

Atronomy - Madam Sinistra br

Ancient Runes - Gallian Constone br

History Of Magic - Cutherburt Binns p

Lita smiled at the paper, all of these classes seemed so interesting, she wanted to take them all. She looked up, the three had left. p

"Why do people always do that...?" Lita sighed, all alone as students had stood to go to their classes. p

--p

Lita stared down at the parchement, she hadn't moved in hours, but her goblet continued to fill with Pumpkin Juice, and her plate of sausage wrapped in a biscuit never was empty, so she was happy. All of the classes had been circled, she had stopped the Ancient Runes teacher, who explained that in the Seventh year of students, each class was an hour. With an hour for lunch and dinner in between. So, if she took all of the classes, it would be a thirteen hour day, which was perfectly fine with her. She took a gulp of juice, but spit it back out as a silvery man's head stuck up through her plate of sausages. "Why hello there young student! Shouldn't you be in class at this late hour?" The silver man rose through the table, floating in front of her as if in water. p

"What are you?" She quickly averted her eyes, how could she have been so rude? But the man only chuckled, as if he had been asked the same question many times before. p

"I am a ghost, my name is Sir Nicolas Podmore, but you can call me Sir Nick if you'd like!" He went to shake her hand, but his merly went through hers, like smoke. "Very nice to meet you, Lita, yes you;re talked about among the ghosts here as well," he answered her question before she could even ask it. p

"Lita!" Ron was running to her, a large covered cage under his arm. p

"What's goin' on?" Ron put his hand over his heart, panting madly, p

"I just saw Hagrid on the grounds. Your dad told my brother that you didn't have an animal. So he sent you this," Ron set the cage on the table and pulled the cloth off. Lita gasped and leaned towards the cage, mouth open, eyes wide. p

"Oh my, what a stunning creature," Nick said bretahless. A golden owl sat atop it's perch, preening it's feathers. t's gold eyes stared back at her. Seeing the golden feathers and the gold eyes made her thing at once. 'iI know just what to name it!/i' p

"I'll name you, Edward," the gold owl hooted in approval.


	6. Chapter Five: A Secret Society

_**Chapter Five: A Secret Society**_

_**"You have Potions this morning," Harry said as he held Lita's schedale. "You have Potions every morning... You're taking an aweful lot of classes aren't you?"**_

_**"That's exactly what McGonagall said, but I'll only be here for one year, while everyone has had six years before me. So why not try and catch up, learn as much as I can while I'm here?"**_

_**"You'll never breathe with this schedule. Every second of free time you'll have will be spent doing homework."**_

_**"I guess, but I'm gonna need some help, maybe you can help me study... if you want?" Harry nearly crashed into the Potions classroom door. He pushed his glasses back up his nose and looked at her, she hadn't noticed, she was slipping her schedyle back into her bag. He pulled the door open without a word and she walked in, thanking him.**_

_**"Wow..." Black cauldrens sitting atop burners filled the room, smokes of all different colors filled the air above her head. There was a warm feeling her, unnatural for a dungeon... Only two people in the room with her. A pale blond boy with stone gray eyes and a pointy nose. Beside him was a boy, nearly identical to Jake, except his eyes were a much darker blue.**_

_**"So, the new girl finally attends a class... and she's with Harry Pothead," he sneered nastily at Harry, who in return rolled his his eyes. The blond boy stood up and walked over. Harry moved closer to Lita, tugging the back of her sleeve. She looked up at him, this boy was a good foot taller then she was.**_

_**  
"Hello, I'm Draco Malfoy," he reached to shake her hand, she took it slowly and he smiled. "That's Jake Wolf..." those dark blue eyes looked at her, then he looked down without a word.**_

_**"Back off, Malfoy," Harry spat angrilly, and Draco stepped back, looking surprised.**_

_**"Oh. I'm sorry, Potter. I dind't know it was against Wizarding law to start talking to people, taking me to jail," Harry growled and reached for his wand. Lita grabbed his wrist, leading him away from Draco, to an empty cauldron across the room.**_

_**"How could you shake that snake's hand?" Harry spat angrily.**_

_**"You forget, Harry. I'm new here, I don't get the whole Slytherin against Gryffindow thing. He has done nothing to me, I have no reason to be nasty to him."**_

_**"I've gone to school witht hat git for six years," Harry yelled angrily, Lita's hair was blown back fromthe force of his voice.**_

_**"And he has done absolutly nothing to me in the two minutes that I have talked to him. When he does something agaunst me, then I'll kiss your feet and give you the best apology I've ever given in my life," Lita glared at Harry viciously, she was standing her grounf firmly. Harry back down, sitting at the cauldren's side.**_

_**"How was your first day of classes, Lita?" Ron asked as he nearly dived into his mashed potatoes.**_

_**"All right, I guess..." Lita stared at her long list of classes, she still had three subjects after dinner to complete. McGonagall had warned her that the work load would become heavy, but Lita wanted to learn as much as she could as long as she was here. Lita knew that she could handle it. An arm wrapped around her shoulders, nearly making her arms give out. Silo smiled toothily at the young blonde. "Hi!" An unseen hand slipped silently over Lita's drink, a clear powder was magically mixed within it's sugary content. "Keep up the good work, Lita, Slughorn was praising you the rest of the day I heard."**_

_**"Thank you, Silo," he patted her back gently and continued down the table. Lita picked up her goblet and took a small sip, setting it back down and continuing her conversation with Ron.**_

_**Lita groaned as she entered the castle, Herbology late was not the best idea. Her right arm was covered in pus filled boils and her chest ached. She had never wrestled a plant before, and she never wanted to again. The new body she was in defintly was not in shape, but it would be soon... the last thing she needed in a battle was for her mind to be willing but her body to not be able. **_

_**It was almost like the earth shook, her vision began to tremble and she crashed against the wall, groping the stones for leverage. Her knees buckled amd she slid to the ground, gasping for breath. Sweat trickled down her face as her eyesight continued to blur until everything went black. She still gasped for breath, her nails scratched against the stone floor. She blinked rapidly, hoping she would regain her eyesight. Lita was scared out of her mind, she was blind.**_

_**"Poor young thing," a smoth deep voice slipped, into her ears. A hand laid on her cheek and she leaned against it, praying that this man could help her. "Just give in, Lita, let the darkness set your soul free..." **_

_**"Silo?" Something pressed against her lips, Lita's head hit the wall as she pushed herself backwards. The pain was harsh, and then it was gone.**_

_**Lita groaned in pain, everytime her heart beat, her head throbbed. She attempted to touch her temple, but she didn't have enough room to move her head enough to touch her head. Her eyes snapped open, she lying on a soft white cushion, her head on a pillow. She had seen this at funerals, she was lying on the inside of a casket. Her heart was beating uncontrolably, inside of a casket. Her heart was beating uncontrolably, she had to do everything in her power to keep from freaking out. Lita bent her knees to her chest and kicked at the top, her body wasn't as toned as her old body.**_

_**"This is yet another time in which I should have been working out," in pure anger she slammed her shin into the top of the coffin and it burst open, like a cage door unlocking, letting a bird be set free. Lita sat up and quickly looked around, there was a large star inside a circle in the middle of the room. The room was dankly lit by torches, shadows covered the floors. **_

_**"Lita Elric, rise," a familiar voice rang through the room. "You have died a sinful woman, but by our power you have been given a new life, reborn white as snow, your sins have been wiped clean as chalk is from a chalkboard after a day's lesson..."**_

_**"Jake?" A cloaked figure, with the head of a wold stepped forth from the shadows.**_

_**"Jake Wolf, the wolf," he stopped on the northern point of the star. Lita gasped as the snout of the wolf moved, the wolf's head on Jake's body was talking.**_

_**"Silo Mothmordem, the owl," another cloaked figure, the face of a barn owl, rested on the west point.**_

_**"Shadow, the bat," she stood upon the lower left point.**_

_**"Jholise Hildon, the raven," there was only one spot left, the east point of the Penticle.**_

_**"Lita Elric, will this be your resting place? Is this open spot your destiny, or have we been mistaken?" The wolf's blue eues stared at her.**_

_**"Jake, what are you talking about? Is this some kind of prank? Some dumb new girl intitiation?" The owl bowed it's head, shoulders shaking.**_

_**"Lita, this is most certainly not a joke. This," his arms spread out, "is a secret society. But, we cannot explain any farther until you have proven you are indeed the one we are looking for. You can trust our word that this is not a joke."**_

_**"Fine," Lita had no clue as to why she was agreeing to this, it was an involuntary response. She knew she had a trusting people problem, but Jake had never steered her wrong, she had no reason to doubt him, she hoped.**_

_**"Your mission, if you choose to accept it, will prove to us that you are indeed the Cat Guardian that the prophecy foretold," Lita looked at Jake as if he were crazy. "There's something I need from the Slytherin Common Room. On the inside of the boys dormitory there is a snake above the doorway. That is known as their 'mascot'. Each of us have taken a different houses respective mascot, except of course for Jholise. But that story will come later. We will be in touch, and remember. 'In Silentium Nos Fides , Ago Porro Immortalis'," they all took each other's hand and seemed to sink into the stone floor. A door swung open after the tip of each hood had disappeared, warm fresh air filled her nose.**_

_**"This is so intense," Lita ran her fingers through her hair, stepping out into the fresh air. **_

_**"Lita!" A pair of arms turned her around and pulled her forward. Her cheek was pressed against a strong chest, hands locked upon her back. "I thought something bad happened to you!" Brilliant green eyes stared down at her.**_

_**"Harry, I'm fine, I just took a rest after Herbology... by the Lake and I accidently fell asleep, I'm sorry..." Harry nodded and released her, sticking his hands into his pockets quickly. "Why were you so worried?" Harry lowered his head, kicking a stone gently.**_

_**"Because we're friends, right? Friends look out for each other."**_

_**"Yep, yep they do."**_


	7. Chapter Six: Medal Of Honor

_**Chapter Six: Medal Of Honor**_

_**Lita sat against her trunk, staring down at what she had just discovered. A long thin wooden box, her name in graved upon it rested on top of her small pile of newly bought robes. Slowly, she opened it and her eyes sparkeled. A silver medal on a thick blue and white ribbon sttled neatly inside of the box. The silver was modeled into a pentagream, a skull in the center. A note was fitted into the top of the box.**_

_**"The time is now. You have until 12:00 a.m. tonight, be silent, be stealthy." Lita stared at the medal, running her fingers over the smooth metal. She looked outside, she had the cover of darkness, the best time would be now. Lita snapped the box shut and hid it under her robes. Unnoticed, Lita snuck out of her dormitory and out of the common room, most students were to deep in their studies to notice her. The Slytherin Common Room was in the dungron, she had heard Slughorn talk about it once, he had a big mouth somtimes. On her order, Wrath had given her the password, incase she needed to get to him. One thing you could say about Lita, she was always prepared for the worst.**_

_**"Password?" An elderly man within a painting asked tiredly.**_

_**"Dracones." The portrait bowed it's head and the painting lifted up, revealing a set of stairs. The hallway was lit in green light, the ceiling was made of crystal, she had read about how Salazar Slytherin had built the Slytherin Common Room under the Black Lake from a book she had borrowed from Hermione. The hallway was short, voice met her ears quickly, as if on a trampoline, Lita jumped into the Common Room rafters. Leather couches surrounded by the central fireplace, green light eminated from the torches on the wall, the fire was an emerald green. Ghostly shadows were casted upon the students faces. **_

_**Lita gracefully jumped from one stone beam to another, attracting no attention at all. She leaped and grabbed onto an archway, swinging onto a set of stone steps. She walked up a spiral staircase, there were seven doors, like the Gryffindor Dormitory, one for each year.**_

_**"I wish Jake had told me which dormitory the snake was in." Lita pushed the door open to the seventh year dormitory. No one was inside, as she expected for she heard no sounds coming from behind the door she had opened.**_

_**The dormitory was much like the Gryffindor's in furniture arrangement. Five four-poster beds were spaced out around the room, green and silver replaced gold and red, snakes replaced lions. A pair of silver eyes looked above looked above the doorway. A thick, coiled up snake made of stone settled frozen aboce the doorway. **_

_**Lita looked around the room, she was to short to reach above the door, she needed something to make her taller. She grabbed the nearest trunk and pushed it up against the door. Reached up above her head, she attempted to grab the snake. She let out a small scream and fell backwards, landing on the stone floor hard on her back. She stared up in disbelieve, holding her hand. The moment she had touched the snake, it had come alive and bit her. Two small drops of blood slid down her hand as the snake looked down at her, tongue sticking out at her.**_

_**"And to think, I thought this was going to be easy." The snake stretched out, it had to be at least twenty feet long uncoiled, and slithered to the floor. It raised it's head, it's jeweled green eyes staring at her intently. Lita let out a slow sigh and waited, staring back at the stone snake. It lunged and she jumped back, standing on the end board of one of the beds. She moved her hand as the snake slithered up one of the posters of the bed. There was a moment, as though time stood still. Lita could hear nothing but her own breath, it was the calm before the storm. **_

_**There was a hissing from above, the snake lowered it's head to meet her gaze, it's tongue poked from between it's jaws. The snake's body was still atop the vail, the snake's head level with her eyes. It opened it's moth wide, bearing it's fangs. She shrieked and fell backwards, bouncing on the bed. The stone snake landed on her heavily, crashing her ribs. She stared at it with frightened silver eyes as it reared it's head, ready to strike, ready to kill. **_

_**A large growl filled the room, the snake's head twist around. A large black panther stood in the center of the room. Body crouched, ears back, fangs blaring. The panther leaped, fangs digging into the stone snake's neck, it couldn't turn it's head to bite the large black cat. For what seemed like hours the snake struggled to be released from the cat's jaws until finally it grew limp. The cat sat in the middle of the room, ears up, staring at Lita with a pair of beautiful gold eyes, expecting praise. **_

_**"Good kitty...?" Lita jumped as the door knob jiggled. She jumped off the bed and grabbed the snake from the panthers mouth, searching for a way out. The panther turned it's back, facing the door, then looked back at Lita. The cat flicked it's head, as if intructing her to ride on it's back. Whoever was behind the door began to pound on it, trying to get it the door open. Lita climbed onto the cat's back, it crouched. **_

_**The cat lifted a large paw and batted away the trunk with ease. The door opened and with rapid movements the cat jumped over the two figures standing in the door way. Papers flew everywhere as the cat jumped across the walls and out of the common room, every Slytherin looking towards the open portrait hole.**_

_**Draco Malfoy and Jason Wolf stood in front of the doorway of the seventh year boys dormitory. "What the hell was that?" Draco asked, straightening his robes. Jason looked above the doorframe, noting the snake was gone. He lowered his head, and smirked to himself. "What's so funny?" **_

_**"They've finally found another." Draco raised an eyebrow and looked back out the door. "They've finally replaced me."**_


	8. Chapter Seven: A Silence Lifted

_**Chapter Seven: A Silence Lifted**_

The hooded wolf stared down at the stone snake before him, inspecting it. "Congratulations, Lita," a human hand lifted it's wand and touched the wolf's jaw, like smoke, the wolf's head was pulled off like a mask, Jake's face smiling at her was revealed, "you passed your intiation." The other's used their wands to remove their animal covers and lowered their hoods. "We hoped you would." Silo lifted the snake and set it on a nearby table.

"So now that I've passed this little initiation thing," Lita shifted her weight to one leg and crossed her arms, "what is this all about?" Jake chuckled softly.

"Eager one aren't we? I suppose you did earn an explanation." Jake waved his wand and five comfy looking chairs settled themselves behind each of them. "Lita, long ago a prophecy was foretold. That five guardians of a certain animal would walk this earth, in order to help bring peace to the wizarding world. We did have five at one point, but then, that person betrayed us, going to fight alongside the Death Eaters and against us."

"Death Eaters?" Jake blinked, then lowered his head.

"I'm afraid I can't go any farther in explination, that is saved for another." Jholise nodded. "But we knew that the prophecy would become complete once more when we found our fifth animal guardian. Our prayers were answered when we found you. Or should I say Berstinatrix found you."

"Berstinatrix?" As if on cue, a barn owl swooped down and landed on Silo's shoulder.

"Berstinatrix, is my owl. She found you in the forest, the day you were sent to us." Silo petted her affectionally. "She is my familiar, we all have one," two other animals swooped in, and the white wolf she had seen at the Black Lake crept from the shadows.

"They are our familiars, we are the animal guardians." The white wolf stood beside Jake's chair, staring at her intently. "You will fulfil your destiny here, as the Cat Guardian. Guardian of the Rising Sun, Guardian of the East."

"But how do you know that's my destiny?" Jake smiled.

"Because Jholise has seen it." Lita looked at the black haired girl, who slowly smiled at her reassuringly. "We all were gifted with exceptional abilities. Silo can manipulate and read minds. He is also telechentic. Shadow can change objects from a solid to a gas or a liquid, fit through small spaces and walk through walls. And Jholise, she is very special, she can see into the future."

"So, what's your power?" Everyone looked at Jake, as if asking if he was going to tell her. Jake sighed and stood from his chair, the white wolf bowed it's head. Jake turned his back on Lita and lowered his cloak. On his back was a full length tattoo of a pair of black angel wings.

"Adventum Niger Pennae." His skin began to bubble like hot wax and Lita covered her mouth as his skin began to blister where the tattoo used to be. For from his back sprouted two black feathered angel wings. The tips nearly brushed the stone floor as he turned to face her again. He didn't have to say anymore, he had fully convinced Lita. "So now..." Jake looked at the rest of his group. "I suppose the question is, where do we find Lita's familiar?" A small purr caught everyone's attention. Jake's eyes widened and he turned around. The black panther that had rescued her from the stone snake walked from the shadows. Everyone, both animal and human bowed as the panther walked forward.

"That panther helped me get the mascot..." Jake's head snapped towards Lita, eyes gleaming.

"Selene helped you? She hasn't shown herself in a decade..." The panther roared and walked up to Lita. Slowly, it bent it's hind legs, lowering it's head shoulders hunched, bowing to her. Lita looked at Jake, who seemed unbelievably shocked. "I guess that settles it then." Jake said softly to himself, and everyone straightened up. "There's just one more thing we need to do. Stand!" Lita jumped from her chair as did everyone else, and the chairs disappeared. Shadow handed Silo another shiny oak box and Jake disappeared into the shadows. The panther walked forward and sat beside her as Silo walked up to the young blond, apparently waiting for Jake to return. And he did, holding what looked like a branding wand.

"What are you going to do with that?" Lita attempted to back up, but Silo grabbed onto her wrist.

"Lita, it's okay, you have no reason to be frightened," Jake took off his watch and revealed a burn mark in the shape of a penticale, "we've all done so. You will survive, I promise." Jake nodded to her reassuringly. "Present your right wrist." Slowly, Lita stretched out her right hand Jake took it gently. "Take so with Silence. And your process will be completed. The prochecy will be fofilled." Jake stared into her eyes as he pressed the brand into her wrist.

Lita bit the inside of her lip as the pain corsed through her body in angry pulses. She stared right into Jake's eyes, very determined. Finally, he lifted the wand and small burn mark lay on her wrist. Silo opened the box Shadow had given him. Inside was a very expensive looking watch, the same as Jake was wearing. A pentagram was set in the middle, the numbers in roman numerals. She took the watch, it fit right over the burn mark.

"You've been marked as our equal, your revealing process is now complete." They all walked up to her, animal beside their respective owner, all in a line. And simotainiously. They all bowed before her. Lita stared down at them in disbelief but smiled to herself.

Lita stared down at the full page of her diary. The diary that had been left under her pillow. The diary with the Pentagram on the front of the cover. The diary she had received exactly thirty days ago. October Tenth was scrawled across the top of the page in black ink neatly.


	9. Chapter Eight: Whisper To A Scream

_**Chapter Eight: A Whisper To A Scream**_

Lita rested against one of the pine trees near the large Black Lake near the Quidditch Pitch. The weather was starting to chill, and she wanted to spend as much time as she could outside. And finding time to talk to Wrath was becoming more and more difficult now that her studies were becoming heavier and heavier. She couldn't even find time to see Harry or any of the other Gryffindor's for that matter, other then outside of classes. But she forced herself to put the books down and go soak in some fresh air.

Wrath sat between her legs, smiling intently. Lita was running a brush through his long black/green hair. "Wrath?" The young boy stopped rocking. "How did you get here?" She hadn't meant to be so blunt, but she needed to know. Maybe if she knew how he had gotten here, she would find out how she had appeared in this world. The mood changed considerably. She could tell he was no longer happy, even if she couldn't see his face.

"Well," Wrath started, shoulders sinking, "after you died Edward grabbed your body and mine."

"Ed's alive! Did he have all his limbs!? How's Alphonse!? Did he come back too?"

"Yes, he's alive and has all of his limbs. He never passed through the Gate a second time. Al is fine too, he came from the Gate after your soul was taken." Wrath spoke quickly before she could ask anymore questions. Lita smiled to herself, Al and Ed were alive. She finally had conformation. She definitely should have talked to Wrath a lot sooner than now.

"I'm sorry for interrupting, Wrath." She promised internally to let him finish his story.

"Well, afterwards I was given auto-mail by this crazy lady." Wrath lifted up his sleeve to reveal a familiar shiny metal that she had grown up around her entire life. "After I recovered, I used the auto-mail to open the Gate. And I ended up here." Lita sat and sighed to herself. This wasn't helping her mystery at all. She was all ready dead, no body or auto-mail for that matter to help her open the Gate. Only a soul with cat ears and tail attached. "Mommy?" Wrath turned around, staring up at with big purple eyes. "How did you get here?" Lita sighed to herself, running her fingers through her hair.

"I don't know, Wrath. I truly don't know. That's what I'm trying to figure out."

"Anything I can do?" The young boy asked eagerly. She smiled down at him sweetly.

"Nope, just try to stay out of Envy's way and be good. That's all I ask." Wrath wrapped his arms around her and hugged her gently.

"Aw, so cute."

"Speak of the devil." Envy was walking by. Draco and Jason among the group of people with him. "What do you want Envy?" The young man, stopped, smirking.

"Oh, nothing, Lita. I just wanted to congratulate Wrath on his excellent achievements. Finally, at fourteen years old, he has finally stopped wetting the bed." The Slytherins laughed like a pack of hyenas.

"Grow up, Envy. I've had enough of you, okay?" Lita rolled her eyes at the group of Slytherins in disgust.

"Oh pardon me. I didn't mean to disrupt the center of the universe." Envy replied nastily.

"Yes, Envy. And as the center of the universe I am telling you to get out of here. Unless you want a repeat performance of what happened in the Great Hall a little while back." Envy glowered at her, she smiled back sweetly.

"That was just a fluke, I won't let it happen again." Lita stood up slowly, Wrath pleading with her to calm down. Lita walked up to Envy, her chest was filling up to capacity. She felt confident about taking on Envy. She had used the last month to tone and define her newly used muscles. She was smarter, stronger, and faster then she used to be. "Pretty confident aren't you?" Envy said as he stepped closer to her, the top of her nose brushing against his chest. Wrath had gotten to his feet, standing a little behind Lita, keeping a wavering eye on the other Slytherins.

"Yes." Lita reached back, her knuckles cracking against Envy's cheek bone. Envy was nearly knocked off his feet, the Slytherins reached for their wands but something caught Lita's attention. Draco grabbed onto the sleeve's of the two bulkiest boys beside him. She was knocked back as Envy lept forward. He landed on her, her back scraping against the hard dirt. Her leg slipped between their bodies and her heel pushed into his stomach, pushing Envy off of her.

"Dumb bitch!" He grabbed her right wrist, his palm pressed into her stomach, lifting her off of the ground, throwing her over his body. She couldn't stop the free falling, no matter how much she wanted too. She was thrown so viciously that she was sent straight through a tree. It was life she was moving in slow motion. She could see fragments of wood, splinters, flying around her as her body was pushed through the thick pine tree truck. The skin on her back was pressed harshly into her backbone and vertebrates. Pain receptors coursed from her spine to her brain, every time her heart beat, her heart throbbed. She rolled over several times, kicking up dust everywhere. She laid there, unable to move. Envy rolled up his right sleeve, ready to advance on the beaten girl when someone grabbed his upper arm. Envy turned his head, a pair of gray eyes starred into Envy's purple orbs.

"That's enough. She's got the message." Envy stared at Draco in astonishment, o one had dared stand up to Envy before. The deadly sin stared directly into the blonde's eyes, waiting for him to say something more. "You'd only get into trouble with your father. If we leave now, no one will be able to prove you did anything." Envy stared down at the torn up dirt, nodded, eyes traveling to the cowering boy he called his brother. His eyes flashed and Wrath ducked his head in fear. The small group laughed and stalked off quickly.

"Mommy?" Warth crawled over to the fallen cat. He laid a hand on her bare side, the other on her knee. He shook her gently, attempting to rose some response. "Mommy? Are you okay?" She rolled onto her back, gasping for breath.

"I'm fine, don't worry..." The young girl coughed, a bright red liquid spilling from her lips. Wrath gasped, Lita brought her wrist to her mouth, wiping the blood away quickly.

"You should go to the Hospital Wing." Wrath took her by the elbow and helped her up.

"I'll be fine, Wrath." Involuntarily, her arm wrapped itself around her middle, as if attempting to hold her ribs up inside her chest. Keeping them from falling onto her diaphragm, like sticks on a trampoline.

"You really should..."

"I'm fine, Wrath!" Lita snapped angrily at the young boy. He looked as though he had been whipped, she looked away quickly. Unable to look at the emotional damage she had just cause the young boy. Slowly, Lita made her way up the stone pathway that lead up to the castle. Every step was filled with pure anger, hatred and disappointment in herself. Questions, running through her mind like cheetahs, questions within herself. No one greeted her on her way up to Gryffindor Common Room. Even Luna Lovegood and Ginny Weasley chose against saying their hellos in fear of losing their beauty to Lita's sharp nails. The Girl's Dormitory was empty, it was nearly lunch time.

The beautiful blind plopped down on her bed, a painful feeling in her heart and in her back. A quill in her hand, she furiously began to relive what had just happened, adding in her thoughts, feelings and swear words when they were needed. No matter how much she wrote, the pain just wouldn't numb, Angrily, Lita stood up, slamming the book shut and gripping her hair, pulling on it until her scalp burned. Hatred coursed through her arm as her knuckles met the nearest window. Pieces of glass fell to the ground, bouncing against the carpet. Her hand had not been cut by the window as she had expected. Sitting back onto the bed, she ran her fingers through her long blond hair.

Gold eyes traveled to the shards of broken glass, it was like the pieces were calling out to her, begging to let them help take away the pain. Trembling hands slowly picked up a shard of the glass and stared at the sharp edges. As if under a spell, Lita brought the sharp edge to her bare forearm. Roughly pushing into the skin, she dragged the shard across her forearm. Tears rolled down her cheeks and onto her lap as small trails of blood rolled down her forearm and into her open palm. Head hitting the pillow, Lita pulled the covers up to her chin. The pain in her heart replaced by the pain in her wrist.


	10. Chapter Nine: Uncomfortable Positions

**Chapter Nine: Uncomfortable Positions**

A slick, rough tongue ran over a soft cheek. Eyelashes fluttered and gold eyes met gold eyes. Lita smiled and scratched Selene's ear gently, sitting up and stretched. The large panther at Lita knowingly as the blonde's eyes traveled to her exposed forearm. A thick rigged scab laid in the wake of her self-inflicted wound. A growl quickly caught the beautiful cat's attention. Selene was sitting beside the bed, staring at a piece of parchment on her beside table.

_Hey Lita,_

_Is everything okay? I heard from Wrath that something went down between you and Envy? I hope everything is okay... Come down when you're ready, I saved you dinner. _

_ -Harry_

_PS) I fixed the window, I hope you didn't hurt your hand._

Lita sighed to herself, smiling at the scrawled signature at the bottom of the letter. She loved having Harry as a friend, he was so kind and nurturing, somehow she just knew that he would always be there for her, no matter what. Lita looked around the room, she could see everything so clearly, as if it were noon, but by Harry's letter, it was past dinner time, so the room had to be pitch black. She searched in her trunk at the foot of her bed for a long sleeve shirt, at last, at the bottom of her trunk, she found her red fishnet shirt. Quickly, putting it on under her tank top, she walked down the stairs, bringing a blanket a long for the ride.

* * *

Harry tapped the arm of the plushy couch impatiently. He had gone up to the Girl's Dormitory, thanks to his trusty Firebolt, over an hour and a half ago. Lita was fast asleep in her bed, wrapped up tight in her blankets. She had looked so peaceful, so angelic, so much healthier then she had the time he had seen her asleep in the Hospital Wing over a month ago. He couldn't stop himself, he had reached out and pushed a few stray strands of blond hair out of her pale face, touched the soft skin of her cheek before scribbling his note and leaving.

He now sat in the Common Room, staring into the flames, catching himself looking at the clock every five seconds or so, then looking at the stairs every time he heard the slightest sound. He didn't know exactly why he was acting like this. Because he was worried, he told himself internally, because I'm worried about a friend who just got into a fight. There's nothing else... right?

* * *

A blond head poked around the corner silently. Harry, who she identified by seeing his jet black hair sticking up all over his head, was sitting in the large red couch that rested right in front of the fireplace. As she crept, she got a glance at his face, which she noted look beautiful with the flames making his skin glow. He looked somewhat impatient, as if he was waiting for an important client who was late to a lunch date.

"I'm sorry if I kept you waiting..." Somehow, she felt as though his impatience was her fault. Harry jumped off of the couch like a fish out of water. "And now I'm more sorry for scaring you. Wow, I'm just full of sorrying tonight..."

"Sorry, I just thought I would have heard you come down." Lita shrugged, she had always been light on her feet.

"I guess we can both feel sorry together now." The young blond took a seat next to the black haired boy, who scooched over to make room for her. "So, I hear you have food?" Harry chuckled, but handed her a full plate of her favorite foods. He had noted what she ate each night. It was basically the same thing, any type of fish that was available, a tall glass of iced milk and some carrot cake for dessert. He watched silently as she ate the plate he had just given to her. She was eating rather quickly, laying the small chunks of fried fish on her tongue in quick succession. It was then, that Harry realized how her quick her reflexes were. It was hard to notice the finer details of a person these days. Especially after Hogwarts had started driving hard on them. Harry had to look away as she began to drink from the iced goblet of milk. She sighed in contentment, smiling at Harry, wiping away her milk mustache with a run over of her tongue.

"Lita, is everything okay?" Lita looked down at her empty plate in thought. She made a split second decision. Looking back up, she closed her eyes and smiled.

"Everything is great. Envy was just picking a fight with me, happens all the time. I can't win all the time, right?" Harry looked at her skeptically but said nothing more of the subject. Now that he knew she was safe, fed and happy, he found his eye lids becoming rather heavy.

"Thanks, Harry. I really apprecia..." The young blonde stopped as she looked over at Harry. He had fallen asleep, head resting on the arm of the couch. A smile crept across her face as she lifted Harry's feet onto the couch, and laid the blanket on top of his sleeping figure. Lita looked at Harry as she sat at the opposite side of the couch. His soft pitch black hair rested on his forehead perfectly, sticking up in the back, but didn't cover the odd lightening bolt shaped scar on his forehead. She tilted her head to the side, she had never seen a scar in that particular shape before. In one last motion, she leaned forward very close to his face and... took off his glasses. She didn't want them to be damaged if he happened to roll over in the middle of the night. She set them on the near table and picked up a pillow. There wasn't enough room for her to lay down as well, and she was to lazy to walk to a different arm chair, so she rested her head on the pillow, her back against the arm of the couch and closed her eyes. Her thoughts always returning to a pair of beautiful green eyes.

When Harry woke up the next morning, he felt unbelievable joy, and he hadn't even opened his eyes yet. It just felt like it was going to be one of those days when everything just went perfectly. He didn't know how he knew it was going to be that kind of day, it could have something to do with the fact that it was Saturday, which meant no classes. Or that he had great news to tell Lita... Oh yeah, he hadn't even asked her yet. He had to remember to do that today, wait until the perfect moment and then spring the question on her. He had to get up now, before she woke up, he needed some time to get ready.

* * *

Eyelashes fluttered as Harry opened his eyes for the first time that day. He nearly jumped out of his skin at what he saw. Harry was laying in the same position he had slept in all night, but Lita was asleep on him. He had fallen asleep before she had, so he knew for sure that they had not fallen asleep like that. And from what he knew about her, she wouldn't have fallen asleep on him. She must have fallen asleep and wound up like this in the middle of the night. Harry could feel his heart pounding against his ribs, he was afraid to move, in fear of waking her up. But he didn't want to stay there in case she woke up and found them sleeping like this, and accused him of being a perv or something. He had to make a move before she woke up.

He used his hips to inch his way to the end of the couch and slid himself out from under her, as she lay, still snoring softly on the couch. He crept to the Boy's Dormitory Staircase, taking one last look at the blond beauty sleeping on the Gryffindor Common Room Couch.


	11. Chapter Ten: Hearts On Fire

**Soul of Steel (Chapter Ten) Hearts On Fire**

Lita raised her arms into the air, stretching out her aching back. She looked around the Common Room, no one was there, but she heard commotion from the stairs. The other students must have been getting ready for breakfast. It was then that she jumped and remembered, the Bonfire was tonight! It was nearly time for the Quidditch Teams to start practicing, and Hohenheim was trying to bring the school together for some inter-house fun. So, he had designed for the Quidditch Teams to dress in their uniforms and that they would all light their own large piles of wood. It was a time to enjoy the last cool nights of fall, and to mingle together without worrying about school work.

Lita walked up to the girls dormitory, the sleep all ready gone from her eyes. Jholise was sleeping comfortably in her bed, she was more of a night person. Shadow was jumping around excitedly, sporting a red tank-top with a red ribbon tied around her black mini skirt. Lita always thought that she had some sort of mental disease. She was always jumping around and changing subjects in the middle of a sentence. But she was extremely funny and happy. While Jholise was more quiet, more well thought, as though the few words she spoke we're perfectly chosen. She was also a great listener, and she had a far greater attention span then Shadow did. But some how the two seemed to fit together. Opposites attract they say.

"Hey, Lita!" Shadow skipped across the room, she seemed to be more excited then usual. "Looks like you had a really good night." She elbowed the cat rather painfully in the ribs.

"Why do you say that?" Lita asked the hyper bat as she rubbed her now sore ribs.

"Oh, don't play dumb. We saw you and _the _Harry Potter. Asleep in the Gryffindor Common Room together."

"So? That doesn't mean anything."

"When in fact it means everything." Lita rolled her eyes as she walked over to her empty bed. Shadow shrugged. "What are you gonna wear?" Lita sighed in relief, thankfully Shadow had changed the subject.

"I don't know. Probably just a sweater and jeans."

"BoooorrrrrING!" The blond cringed, looking over at Jholise who thankfully was still sleeping soundly. She was obviously used to Shadow's loudness for she hadn't even stirred. "You have to wear something sexy, you have a boy to impress. This is seriouss!"

"I'm not after Harry, we're just friends. I swear." Shadow raised her eyebrows.

"Uh huh, whatev." Shadow began to dig through Lita's trunk for something special. "This is so perfect!" Shadow held up a red and black stripped tank top that but off at the belly. "You'll look fabulous in this."

"I'm not gonna flash my abs to the entire school."

"But you have good abs, so it isn't a problem." Lita rolled her eyes but snatched the tank top out of Shadows hands.

* * *

Lita hadn't seen Harry all day, Hermione said that many of the Quidditch players were down in the field practicing for the Bonfire tonight. Apparently, a very advanced spell had to be learned to light the flames in they're house colors. To show team spirit. Time seemed to be going in slow motion, she was sure she saw her watch go backwards. She had to admit, the Bonfire sounded exciting. There would be fire, which always entertaining, live music from a wizarding band and food of course. It had been a really long time since she had something to look forward too.

"Having fun?" A familiar green haired Slytherin walked by. "Your back feeling okay now?" Lita closed her eyes and looked away. "What's the matter? Can't face the man who beat you into submission?" Envy took her chin and tilted her head up to look at him. She glared into his eyes, anger filling inside her once more. She reached back and slapped him with all her might. She closed her fist and brought her right arm across her body and slammed it into his chin as she back handed him.

"Lita!" She turned around, shocked as Hohenheim came running towards her. "Detention!"

"What!?" Hohenheim turned on her viciously.

"Don't try and play the innocent card on me. Just go."

"But..."

"Go!" Lita looked up at him, tears threatening to fall. She felt hurt. They both knew how Envy could be, he hadn't bothered to ask who started it, or if he had provoked her into hitting him. He only just walked in to see her knock him senseless. Lita ducked her head and walked out of the Great Hall.

* * *

"No, don't cry..." Lita walked around her bed, pacing madly. "I'm not weak like that. I won't ever cry again." She let out a deep breathe and opened her drawer, looking around to see if anyone was there. She rolled up her red fishnet slowly, stopping to look at the past scab. It was now a dark red jagged line, crusty in texture, with red irritated skin surrounding it. She brought the sharp glass to her exposed forearm once again, digging it deeper then the previous time into her skin. Blood dripped into her open palm once again as the pain and pent up aggression seemed to just disappear. Her shoulders relaxed as the edge of the glass now glistened red.

* * *

The students had all gathered around the large stacks of wood, waiting for the Headmaster's signal. Lita looked around, searching for any Gryffindor she knew remotely well. It was then that she noticed a mess of black hair. "Harry!" The tall black haired Quidditch Captain turned around, smiling.

"Lita." He blushed and shuffled his feet, Lita scrunched her brow, confused about his sudden change in behavior. "Did I miss anything interesting today?" Lita shrugged off the question.

"Not much, nothing ever happens when you aren't around, you should know that by now." Harry laughed loudly, catching the attention of several other students around them.

"Sorry." He returned to his blushing, quiet self. She looked at Harry with a saddened expression. They had been friends for about a month and a half now. On her part, the 'just getting to know ya jitters' were gone. But it didn't seem to be the case for him. Lita began to question herself. Was she a bad friend? Did she make Harry uncomfortable when she was around? Did he even see her as a friend? Did he trust her?

"Attention!" Hohenheim called from a pedestal that towered over the four piles of wood.

"I have to go. I'll catch you later, right?" Lita nodded and Harry ran over to the farthest wood pile to the left.

"Welcome to the first, of hopefully many, Hogwarts Quidditch Bonfire Night!" Lita rolled her eyes, he always had a knack for naming things. "This is a night to celebrate a tradition that has been with Hogwarts for many centuries. Quidditch!" There was a round of applause from every house except from of course, the Slytherins. Lita zoned out as Hohenheim continued his squecking, as of now, she was officially disowning him as her father. Not that he was ever her father, he said it himself that he never thought of her as his daughter. She was just a side project to him, like a stray kitten his sons had picked up on the way home, and he was allergic to cats.

Lita nearly jumped out of her skin as a large, red fire roared before her. A second fire of chilling sapphire roared to life. A third of mystical gold immerged from the wands of seven yellow clad witches and wizards. And lastly, a fire of gorgeous emerald green blazed in glory beside the rest of the flames, crackling ominously. Lita smiled at the four large flames burned before her, opera music played in the back of her mind as her thumbs slipped into her waistband, shifting her weight to one foot. It was just something that made her body shiver, something that everyone should be apart of.

"Like what you see?" A pointy nosed blonde Slytherin smirked at her, strutting his green Quidditch robes. The balloon inside her chest had been popped. Lita's face turned blank, arms crossing over her mature chest.

"I didn't know you were a Quidditch Player." Draco tilted his head, squinting his eyes at the young girl, as if he were looking for something.

"What did I ever do to get such a cold greeting." The blond looked to her right, and then back at the pale blond boy.

"Sorry, but I have a problem with grown men watching another grown man beat up a girl, and do absolutely nothing about it. Especially when that girl did absolutely nothing to you." Draco rolled his eyes, turned to the fire and she stared as the flames made his skin glow brilliantly. Brilliantly... wow, Harry's language was really rubbing off on her... Harry! Lita turned around, scanning the dancing bodies everywhere, searching for a familiar face. It was then that she spotted him. Harry, still dawning his Quidditch Robes, was surrounded by a pack of girls. The one he was talking to, Romilda Vane. And what scared her the most, Harry seemed as though he didn't mind their company.

"What's the matter, not getting enough attention from Potter?" She nearly snapped, grabbing onto the front of his robes, pulling him down to her level.

"Watch it Malfoy, or I'll throw you into that fire." He seemed relatively scared and she let him go. Malfoy said nothing more, dusting his front off and walked off, mumbling something incoherent under his breathe.

"Everything okay?" Lita turned around, Harry was walking towards her, a worried expression on his face.

"Everything's fine." Harry shuffled his feet. Lita didn't know why she had just spoken to him in such a demeaning tone. But Lita felt kind of put out, Harry had promised to come back when the fires had been set, and he had left her all alone for Romilda Vane, who not long ago was shuddering at her presence.

"You sure?"

"Yeah." Lita forced herself to make this word softer. Harry nodded, finally putting himself at easy.

"Harry!" A shrill voice broke his eye contact with her, Romilda was skipping towards them.

"Romilda..." The blond haired girl latched onto Harry, a fake smile plastered all over her heavily powdered face.

"Harry, why don't you come hang out with us?" She nearly dragged him towards her group of giggling girls. Lita stood there, brow lowered in sadness as he walked away.

"I'm just going to go up to the Gryffindor Common Room..." What hurt the most, is Harry didn't bother to even turn his head and look at her, he just walked away. It was as though the muscles in her neck had gone limp, her chin touched the skin of her chest, and she could no longer hear her heart. It had been crushed by Harry's heeled boot. Lita reached up, lifting her head, and ran her fingers through her hair and turned on her heel, walking up the steep to the castle, alone in her thoughts. Back to her room and back to her glass shard.


	12. Chapter Eleven: Beauty Is Skin Deep

**Soul of Steel (Chapter Eleven) Beauty Is Skin Deep**

**(Now, before I start, I know that a lot of you guys may not delve as deep into the books as I do and remember every little detail and you don't check every little thing on HP-Lexicon. But I do! And for those of you who catch this, I all ready know. Romilda Vane -the fourth year, as of HBP who was infatuated with Harry, even going as far as giving him strong love potion in the form of chocolates- is described as having long dark hair. But I want her to have blond hair in my story, to make her out as an innocent acting girly girl, like one of those perfect little girls. So there is my only non-canon thing as of now that will happen other then the OC's in this fiction. Thank you very much for reading my little rant.)**

--

Hermione sighed to herself as she stared down at a certain blond cat who was still asleep with only a limited amount of time before class started. The brunette walked over to the nearest window and opened the curtains. Lita groaned as a bright light met her closed eyes, shining through the thin skin, and onto her un-expecting pupils. She sighed and rolled onto her back, arms spreading out, right hip up towards the sky, knee caps nearly touching the mattress.

"Who's the evil genius who made morning so friggin' bright?" Lita opened her silver eyes slowly, blinking several times.

"Probably the same evil genius who planned school days after crazy Bonfires." Lita looked over at Hermione, who was hurriedly throwing things into her bag.

"Is everything okay, Hermione?"

"Okay, of course everything is okay. Why wouldn't everything be okay? Everything is better then okay. It's so okay it's okay okay." Hermione continued her 'it's okay' for so long that Lita had gotten up, taken a quick shower, gotten dressed, done her hair and make up and packed her things. "I mean, what does okay even mean now a days anyway, it's such an ov..." Lita reached over and got Hermione in a headlock, covering her mouth at the same time.

"Okay, Hermione, I got it, you can calm down now. Calm..." she was struggling. "Repeat calm." She finally stopped wiggling. "We good?" Lita caught herself in nearly saying. 'Are we okay?' The blond cat let her go, gave Edward an owl treat from a bag that Harry had given her and left the room without another word.

--

Lita sighed to herself as she came to the very bottom of the Grand Staircase. She decided that she wasn't going to hold Harry's total rudeness against him. Instead, she was going to be the bigger person in their relationship and act as though nothing had even happened. When she got to the Golden Doors, which were left open for meals and study time, Harry was sitting at the Gryffindor Table, all alone. It was weird for none of the others to be sitting with him, especially Ron.

"Feeling lonely?" She asked softly from behind Harry, who hadn't heard her walking up to him. He nearly fell off the long bench that made up the seating as he jumped from surprise. Catching himself surprisingly quick, Harry turned around, a smile on his face.

"Not anymore. Do you want to..." Harry stopped right in the middle of his sentence, looking behind her. Lita turned around to see Romilda Vane. Her long blond hair was highlighted and strait, resting on her shoulders, dark brown eyes staring at her as if waiting for an explanation. Her weight was shifted to one leg, a hand on her hip, a look in her eyes as if she seemed she was higher then everyone else in the world. Lita's eyes lids drew closer together and she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Lita... this is Romilda Vane... she's my girlfriend." Lita turned around to look at her messy haired friend, who seemed at a loss for anymore words. Romilda walked around Lita, bumping her shoulder, and sat down next to Harry. Circling her arms around his arm, and latched onto him like an overgrown leech with thick make-up and fake eyelashes. Lita swallowed her insulting words, and turned around, walking up the table and sitting down alone, regretting ever being friends with him in the first place.

--

Lita sat in a tree that had lost all of it's leaves. Her back rested against the trunk, her legs crossed as she sat on a high, very thick branch. The last thing she needed was to fall out of a tree and into the Black Lake. She sighed and looked down into the clear waters. When she had first come to this world, the very first thing she saw was a brilliant pair of gorgeous green eyes that she believed belonged to an angel. When in fact, they belonged to the devil.

Harry had taken her under his wing basically, showing her everything that was confusing and shedding light into a very shadowed place for her. And now, he just tossed her aside for an ugly, blond, fifth year who could offer him nothing in life except for mediocre sex and ugly children.

Lita broke a twig off of the tree and chucked it at the Lake. Of course, it did nothing, merely floating atop the water. It was then that something struck her, she was just like that twig. She was just a small twig among a billion drops of water. She was an outcast, she was different. She would never blend in with all of the other Hogwarts students, who could not only do magic, which she could not, but had also, for the most part, had been around magic their entire lives. Or at least for the seven years that they had been in this school.

Lita had been there for a month and a half and she still had no clue what her point was in this world. Someone or something made sure that she was in this world, but she wanted to know why, and no one seemed to know the answer.

"Everything okay?" A pair of light blue eyes stared up at her. Silo, hands in his pocket, stood below her.

"Everything's just great." Silo tilted his head to one side.

"This wouldn't have anything to with Harry going out with Romilda Vane?" Lita turned her head to the left.

"No..." As she turned back to look at him when he didn't reply and nearly fell out of the tree. Silo was standing in the air as if he were standing on solid ground right next to her.

"Not a very good listener are you?" Silo spoke in a condescending voice, tickling her under the chin as if she were a small child. "Don't you remember what Jake told you a month ago when we inducted you into our Order? I can read minds. And you are a very angry person." Silo seemed to float over to the end of the limb and sat down comfortably.

"I'm just mad." She finally confessed to both Silo and herself.

"Because you like him?" Lita looked up at him.

"Why do you ask questions that you all ready know the answer to?"

"I wouldn't ask questions when I know the answer. I only read minds when people lie to me."

"Honestly, I don't know if I like Harry. I mean, he's a cool guy and everything, but he's been like my best friend since I got here. I just don't know." Lita jumped down, landing gracefully on her feet. "I just don't know." She brought a hand up to rub her temple and began to walk back up to the castle.

"Beauty is only skin deep, don't let Romilda get to you. Beauty is only skin deep, and Harry will see that. Romilda is beautiful, but that is all she has, Harry will see that not only are you beautiful, but you are smart and comical and have a wonderful personality.Lita, you wear your heart on your sleeve. Be sure not to carve it to pieces." Lita stopped in her tracks, and quickly continued on as if his words didn't affect her. Did he know?

--

"So? What do you think?" A beautiful brunette emerged from the trunk of the tree, as if she were made of smoke.

"She is the One. If that is what you're asking." Shadow crossed her arms and rested against the tree trunks.

"Should we start training her?"

"No," Silo jumped down from the tree as well, "she will learn in time what her destiny is. And the powers that have been bestowed upon her."

"I think you over-estimate her sometimes. You trust people to quickly." Silo looked at her out of the corner of his eyes.

"Maybe, but taking to long to trust a person can seem suspicious. And we have no reason to doubt her. She has remained loyal, she has told no one."

"And you know this?" Shadow asked skeptically.

"My dear friend, I know everything." Shadow rolled her eyes as Silo smiled his toothy grin.

"But don't you wonder, if maybe Berstinatrix was wrong." Silo crossed his arms, and shifted his weight to one leg.

"No. She's never been wrong before, and I would never doubt her now." Silo closed his eyes as the blond haired girl disappeared into the castle. "And I don't think she's wrong about this one. She can become useful to us." Shadow nodded and disappeared into the ground. Silo sighed to himself, staring into the water as the cold October wind blew ripples in the clear abyss.


	13. Chapter Twelve: Two Faced

**Soul of Steel (Chapter Twelve) Two Faced**

Romilda pushed the door open to the Gryffindor Boys Dormitory. Harry was standing by his bed, back towards the door. He was halfway through getting dressed, his strong looking back muscles seemed to ripple as he made the slightest movements. Romilda crept up behind him, wrapping her arms around his middle, pressing her front into his back, resting her cheek between his shoulder blades.

Harry nearly jumped out of his skin when a soft pair of forearms rested on his hips. When he noted the arms were not covered in a net fabric, his heart suddenly sank and he caught himself. Why did he long for Lita to be hugging him in such an affectionate way? He shook the thoughts from his head as a kiss was placed on his backbone.

"I missed you." Harry caught himself rolling his brilliant green eyes. They had just been together all morning for his Quidditch practice. He had come up to change, alone for five minutes was all that he wanted, and yet, she needed to sneak up him while changing.

"Could I just..." Harry nearly pride the girl off of him so he could slip a shirt and sweater on.

"Aw!" Harry jumped from the sudden squeal that emanated from the young blonde. She walked over to the gorgeous golden owl that was sleeping on Harry's bedside table. The owl had awoken and lifted it's head, revealing a bag tied with a red ribbon around it's neck. "Is this for me?!" She seemed very excited to be receiving an owl. Harry scratched the back of his head.

"Uh... no, that's Lita's owl." Romilda had attempted to pet the owl, who squawked and spread it's wings and clamped it's beak down on Romilda's outstretched hand. The blond jumped back, whining that the owl had bitten her. Harry was forced to check her hand, who noted that the wound wasn't even bleeding.

Harry looked over at the owl. His personality was really shining out right now. The owl had ample opportunity to take a chunk out of Romilda's hand. This woman was causing pain to it's master, which Harry did not want to admit. And Harry knew that the owl wanted to get revenge. But instead he gave her a love bite for attempting to touch him. Edward was not a violent bird.

"You should be fine." Romilda glared at the golden bird angrily.

"Stupid bird." The bird jumped into the air and swooped up into the rafters, nipping at Romilda's nose on the way out, his claws nearly getting tangled in her perfectly set blond hair. "Why do you have Lita's owl?" The cute blond had now rounded on him, a hint of jealousy in her eyes.

"Well... she got the owl from my friend's brother, so she doesn't have any food or anything to give him, and I get a monthly supply from the Magical Menagerie and I give her half of it for her owl." Romilda took her boyfriend's hands in her own and looked into his eyes sincerely.

"I only want one thing from you, Harry." She batted her fake eyelashes and looked into Harry's bright green eyes. "I want you to stop talking to Lita." Harry blinked slowly.

"What?"

"You heard me." Romilda stood on her tip-toes and planted a kiss on Harry's lips, he did not return the kiss. "I'm your girlfriend, she's just some chick. I'm more important, right?" Harry looked to the left, thinking about his answer carefully. "Right?" She moved to the left to catch his eye, and stuck out her lower lip.

"Right." Harry said finally. At that moment, he wanted to pick up his Firebolt and beat himself with the handle. How could he have just said that?

"So, are you ready?" Harry looked at his girlfriend confused.

"Ready?"

"Yeah, I figured we could go down to the Lake and have a little picnic or something."

"But..." Romilda pushed her neck forward, raising her eyebrows, waiting for an excuse. "Nothing, I'll be ready in a minute." She smiled, kissed him again, and skipped down the stairs. Harry sighed, grabbed some parchment, scribbled down a quick note, tied it to Edward's leg and sent him back to Lita.

* * *

Lita was tapping her finger against the hard wood of the Gryffindor Table. She was waiting for Harry, which she still didn't know why she was, for they had scheduled a study session over lunch. He was twenty minutes late, and no one had any clue to where he might be. A hoot caught her attention and a golden owl landed before her, a letter tied to his leg.

_ Lita,_

_Something came up, I can't study with you today. Maybe we can reschedule for another time._

_ Sorry,_

_ Harry_

Lita stood up, crushing the letter in her hand. She had an idea as to what he was doing and as to why he had to 'reschedule'. She stormed out of the Hall and out of the castle entirely. Looking down the cliff that looked over the Lake. And who was sitting there, but Harry and Romilda on a checkered blanket, beside the Black Lake, curled up together.

"You're so cute." Romilda reached up and brushed Harry's bangs lightly, leaning in for a kiss.

"Aw, look at the happy couple." The two jumped and stared up at a thin figure, weight shifted to one side, arms crossed, brow scrunched. "Was this the reason you had to reschedule our study time?" Romilda turned on Harry.

"You were going to go on a date!?" Harry sat up and held up his hands.

"No, we study from time to time, in the Great Hall. It wasn't a date, I swear." Romilda then turned on Lita, teeth nearly blaring.

"Shut it. I didn't come here to spoil your alone time. The only thing I wanted to say, and this will probably make you happy, Romilda. Harry, I have one last thing to say, I promise to never talk to you again. And I actually keep my promises." Lita dropped the note Harry had written to her and walked back up hill, passing the Quidditch Pitch on her way.

* * *

"Hermione?" Her ears were lowered, eyes almost pleading. "Could you do me a favor?" Hermione looked up from her book.

"Sure." Lita shuffled her feet.

"Could you do a spell that makes my hair red?" After ending her friendship with Harry, she longed to be as her former self was. She knew she would not be able to get her old body back, but she could make herself look like her old self. And one thing she had to admit she missed, was her long red hair. Not very many people had red hair in Amestris, and she only knew of the Weasley's in this world so far. Her entire world had spun around, she no longer wanted to belong, she now wanted to be different.

"Sure thing. I think you'd look good with red hair actually." Hermione tapped Lita in the middle of the scalp with the tip of her wand. It felt as though ice cold water was dripping down her scalp in slow motion. "Oh! It looks so good!" Lita looked down, she could see the end of her hair was a rich red color, the same it had been before she died.

"Thanks, Hermione."

"What made you want to have red hair all of a sudden?" Lita shrugged.

"I don't know, I just kind of wanted to... change my look."

* * *

Lita wiped the excess water off of her forehead with the back of her hand. She had just stepped out of the fourth floor Women's Shower. She would have used the Gryffindor Showers but they were filled. And she didn't want to be in the showers with a lot of other girls. Not that she was afraid of being hit-on or she was ashamed of her body or anything. It had to do with the scars on her inner arm. There were twenty scars and three fresh cuts that were healing. The last thing she needed in her life right now was for her to be portrayed as a psycho.

"Elric!" The door slammed open and Lita jumped, pressing her left arm into her body, turning towards the door. Romilda was walking up to her, looking very angry, her face a violent red. _Great..._

"Vane."

"Leave my boyfriend and me alone!" Lita rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"I thought I said specifically that I was never going to talk to Harry again. And I have absolutely no business talking to you. So what's the problem?"

"The problem is you're a whore who is fawning over my boyfriend. It's almost like you're obsessed, you're a stalker." Lita rolled her eyes and absent-mindedly lowered her arms.

"Well, my problem Romilda, is having to take a backseat in my friendship with Harry, to a no talent slut like you." Before Lita could react, Romilda reached back and back handed Lita so hard that she turned an entire one-eighty, her back now to Lita.

"Oh my god..." Romilda covered her mouth as she spotted the scars and cuts on the inside of Lita's left arm. She jumped as Lita whipped around, her eyes were glowing silver, the whites in her eyes were gone. As if she were being pushed by a wind with the force of a hurricane, Romilda was thrown backwards, crashing through the wooden door and across the hall until finally, with a sickening thud, she slammed into the opposite stone wall. She slid to the floor, Lita feared her to be dead. When she noticed her chest move, she let out a sigh of relief. Lita grabbed her stuff and looked around, running back up to the Gryffindor Common Room.

* * *

No expression crossed a pretty face as Lita pushed a safety pin through her bottom lip. She had attempted to cut herself, and had succeeded, but for the first time, she couldn't stop crying, and her heart was still in pain. She had lost her temper, and she could have killed a girl, even if that girl was Romilda.

She didn't know what drove her to peirce her lips by hand without novocaine, but she wanted something that could take away the pain in her heart. Blood dripped down her chin as she fixed two small hooped earrings into the two holes she had made into her bottom lip.

"Lita?" She gasped as Harry pushed the door open slowly. "Everything okay?" His expression changed from sullen to concerned. "Lita, you're bleeding." She pressed her lips together as a way to cover the rings.

"Yeah, I was opening the door and I accidently hit my chin. I'm fine." Lita walked past him quickly, as she reached for the door with her left hand, Harry gasped. It was then that she noticed that she had not put her fishnet on under her shirt in her hurry to get dressed and get out of the Common Room.

"Lita?" As the door opened, she bolted. Not looking behind her to see if Harry was following her, she just kept running until she came to a dead end. A window near her that it was night time now, and she probably was outside after school hours. A shadow of a cat gleamed in the torch light. Mrs. Norris, a cat owned by the slimy old caretaker, Mr. Filch was meowing at her. Filch would be on his way any minute.

"Damn." She ran to the window and stopped, there'd be no reason for jumping out the window, she was on the seventh floor, she wouldn't survive the fall. She walked back to the opposite wall, lifting up the tapestry, there were no secret entrance ways behind it. As the cat meowed again and a hunched shadow became bigger, she walked back to the opposite wall thinking one thing...

_I JUST WANT TO BE HOME..._

She nearly screamed as she fell backwards as a door appeared behind her, and swallowed her up.

* * *

As the shadow grew bigger, it became taller, thinner and less hunchy then Filch. Harry Potter stood beside Mrs. Norris. The large wooden door that he had barely seen Lita fall through, was closing. He knew that if it closed, it would disappear and unless he knew exactly what Lita had envisioned, he wouldn't be able to get in until she came out. And Filch was coming. Harry made a dive for the door, grabbing the handle just before the door shut. He slipped inside just before Filch came around the corner, mop in hand.


	14. Chapter Thirteen: Alchemists & Horcruxes

**Soul of Steel (Chapter Thirteen) Alchemists And Horcruxes**

Lita stood in shock at what she saw before her. Three small beds were in three separate corners of a room. One wall held a closet and door, the other walls completely packed with thickly bound books. She was back in her room back in Risembool. She walked to the door as if in a trance, attempted to open it, but the door was locked. The closet was opened by her shaking hands. The closet was filled with red long coats and elevated boots. It was like she never left it. A box between two pairs of boots caught her attention, that had never been there before. She squatted down and opened it, covering her mouth. Sitting in the box snuggly was her old State Alchemist instated pocket watch.

Lita held the silver watch close to her chest, a tear sliding down her face as she curled up into the fetal possession and somehow, fell asleep right there on the floor.

* * *

Harry watched as Lita walked, like she was sleep-walking, over to the closet and pulled out what looked like the Gryffindor Lion embroidered on a silver old fashioned pocket watch. She began to cry and curled up on the floor and fell straight to sleep.

"Lita?" She was out like a light. He picked up the small redhead and placed her on a near by bed, no need to let her sleep on the floor. He looked around, this was obviously a bedroom that she recognized for she directly went to the closet and pulled out a pocket watch. Was this her home wherever Hohenheim lived? Harry sat down on a bed opposite hers and waited...

* * *

The flutter of eyelashes were the first movement Lita had made in hours. She sleepily looked down into her clutched hands to see State Alchemist watch. This wasn't a dream. She sat up in the familiarly comfortable bed and nearly screamed when she spotted Harry in one of the other beds, staring at her intently.

"Lita." She swung her legs over the side of the bed and looked at the floor.

"I know, okay. So, you don't have to say anything." She knew full well that their friendship was over. Who would want to be friends with psychopath?

"How can I help you?" Lita's head slowly turned towards him, her brow scrunched. "Lita, you must be in a lot of pain if you keep hurting yourself. I thought we were friends. I thought we could talk."

"We were friends, until you completely ditched me for some random skank." Harry lowered his head in shame. "But it doesn't matter." He felt extremely guilty. "Where are we?" She was now looking around.

"Wherever you imagined. This room is called the Room of Requirements. It's built for the person who is looking for it. It's a secret room that only opens when someone is in real need of it, and when it does open, it turns into a room that is built for what the seeker wants. What did you imagine?"

"Home." Was her simple answer.

"Your home back with Hohenheim and your brothers?" The only reason Harry asked this was because some people can live in one place and call home another.

"No. They aren't my family." Lita wanted to hit herself, how could she have said that.

"At all? Where do you live then?" Lita looked down at her pocket watch. "Does it have something to do with this?" Harry held up a map of Amestris. "It's not in this world. I know it."

"You wouldn't understand."

"You'd be surprised in what I'd understand." Harry obviously wanted an explanation.

"I'm not of this world. I'm from a different world. I fell through a Gate and I wound up here." Harry blinked. Somehow, he understood in a round about way. "Don't ask me why, because I still don't know. All's I know is that I died in one world, and wound up in a different body here." Harry nodded. "And Hohenheim was my adoptive father back in my world. Envy is Hohenheim's son, Wrath has no blood relations to either of us." Harry stood up and walked over to the bed Lita was sitting on, and took a seat beside her.

"I believe you. And I have some things I need to tell you as well." Harry sighed. "Right now, I'm sure you've noticed a lot of deaths in the papers." Lita nodded. "Right now, there is an evil wizard out there who wants control of the Wizarding World. His name is Lord Voldemort. He tried to kill me when I was a baby, but I survived and he died. He was brought back to life when I was fourteen and he's been growing more powerful everyday. His followers are called Death Eaters and they basically do his bidding." Lita blinked. She remembered Jake saying Death Eaters once, but he explained that he could not explain anymore, that it was saved for another. This made her think, did they know her entire life, had Jholise seen everything?

"Voldemort has split his soul into seven parts for he wants to be immortal. He has put his soul into six different objects that he's scattered to different parts of the world. It's my job to destroy those objects."

"This seems like the kind of thing that you wouldn't be telling me otherwise. Why are you telling me this?" Harry thought for a second.

"Because I think you deserve to be more apart of our lives. And you're really trustworthy too." Lita blinked and scratched her left bicep. Harry reached over and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, bringing her closer to him, allowing her to rest her head on his shoulder.

* * *

Lita stopped suddenly, she had walked into Great Hall and it had all the sudden become silent. The room then became filled with whispers, they might as well have been speaking in full voice, because she could still hear them quite well. And one word kept coming up repeatedly. Cutter.

Everyone knew. Her mind began to race, who knew. First, her mind came to Harry. But she knew, he would never tell anyone and then she remembered. Before she knocked Romilda out, she had been slapped, which had made a particularly large and nasty bruise on the right side of her face. She had been knocked back, and she had only been in a table, her arms were bare. Romilda had seen and to get back at her, had told the entire school.

Lita sighed and shook her head but did nothing. She wasn't going to run and hide. Everyone knew, and there was nothing she could do about it now. She was a girl in a boarding school, of course it wasn't going to be easy. As she sat down, several younger students scooched farther down the table. She sighed and rolled her eyes, laying her chin and her palm.

She looked up as Hohenheim walked by, expecting him to stop and tell her when her detention was going to be. Instead, to her surprise, he just walked by, obviously trying with difficulty, to walk by her without acknowledging her existence. Apparently he knew to. Why did she care? He never saw her as his daughter anyway. Why did she care if he was disappointed or whatever.

But deep inside, she did.


	15. Chapter Fourteen: Players and Snitches

**Soul of Steel Chapter Fourteen Players and Snitches**

**Romilda Vane skipped up to Harry Potter. the beginning of November had finally rolled around and today was Gryffindors first Quidditch game and it was against Ravenclaw. Harry was dawning his Quidditch Robes, awaiting his team. He had gotten to the pitch early, it was hard to remind himself that he would never have the feeling of the first Quidditch Game of the year again. The clouds were covering the Pitch, casting shadows upon the hoops and filled bleachers. For the first game of the season, the seats were all filled with eager students. Even all of the teachers, including the Headmaster were staring down at the empty Pitch, awaiting their favorite teams. **

**"Everything okay, Harr-Bear?" Harry quickly stopped himself from rolling his eyes. He and Romilda had been going out for a month and now he just wanted to kill himself to get out of the relationship. He even thought once 'If Voldemort ever comes to Hogwarts, maybe I'll just let him kill me.' That was how terrible their relationship was getting. Romilda was scowling at Harry. "Are you thinking about Lita?" Harry sighed and absent-mindedly ruffled his hair.**

**"For the last time, we're just friends." Romilda had done nothing but bitch and moan about Lita and their relationship.**

**"That's the problem. I asked you to not talk to her anymore because she's is just a lousy homewrecker. We're perfect together." Harry took her forearms and set them back at her side.**

**"You didn't ask and we didn't discuss my feelings. You TOLD me to stop talking to one of my close friends." Romilda huffed.**

**"If you're gonna keep talking to her, you're gonna need someone to talk to." Harry rolled his eyes once more.**

**"You're dumping me for that?" Romilda looked at him deeply, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. **

**"No." Her voice was softer, her emotions pouring onto him like hot water. **

**"Good." Harry truly did not want to be in this situation, he began to retire his Quidditch uniform to keep his eyes off his crying girlfriend.**

**"I'm dumping you because you have feelings for Lita." Harry looked up from his uniform, his fingers had gone number and the threads dropped back down to his chest.**

**"What?"**

**"Deny it all you want, date me all you want. But in the end, you still want her." Romilda turned around and ran away from him, back to the bleachers. Harry looked down at the muddy ground.**

**Lita sat in the bleachers, bringing everything into her memory. A large field surrounded by raised bleachers filled with students sat before her. All the Gryffindor's had dressed in red and gold, Luna Lovegood and several other non-Gryffindor's who seemed very close to Harry were wearing red and gold as well. Several banners stating "Go Go Gryffindor" and "Roar Gryffindor!" were being held up by as many as twenty students. Six large golden poles with large rings on the top, three on each side of the Pitch, toward above the bleachers. **

**This was very exciting day for Lita, she was so happy to be apart of this. She sat beside Silo and Jake, who had gone through the entire explanation of Quidditch. It was a very simple game once she got her head around it. Basically, three people flew around and tried to get a big red ball through those hoops, two people tried to defend the players, one guarded the goal and one tried to find a smaller golden ball to end the game. **

**"Welcome to Hogwarts first Quidditch Game of the season! Today's match Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw!" A pompous boy, as described by Ginny Weasely, by the name of Zacharias Smith was commentating the match. Fourteen blurs of red and blue flew into the air. The noise she heard next was deafening as everyone, except for possibility the Slytherins, cheered for the Quidditch players.**

**Madam Hooch, the first year flying instructor, flew into the air as the Gryffindors and the Ravenclaws faced each other in the middle of the Pitch. She spoke a few words, Harry shook Michael Corner's hand. Lita had talked to Michael once or twice, he was a very attractive ex-boyfriend of Ginny Weasely. He was very down to earth and very attentive, he was also unbelievably sweet and charming. She understood why Ginny had dated him. A whistle blew and the players quickly flew into their positions and the game was in full swing.**

**Ron who was the Keeper, was sitting on his broom, stiff as a board in front of the goal post. It was obvious that he was nervous, but after the first goal, in which he blocked, he seemed to loosen up rather quickly. Harry was sticking to one spot, eyes like an eagle scanning the horizon. Ginny, Dean and a younger Gryffindor she didn't know were speeding around with three of the Ravenclaw Chasers, wrestling and passing a large red ball between each other. A smaller ball, which looked more like it were made of solid steel, were flying around on their own at at least 60 mph. **

**"Oh, a nasty crash by Thomas and Lamount!" Dean Thomas who was looking back at Ginny so he could catch the Quaffle and collided head on with one of the Ravenclaw Chasers. Dean dropped a few feet, but merely shook his head and continued the game. **

**The game continued, scores happening on each side, Gryffindor was up by ten points 40 to 30. Neither Harry nor the opposite Seeker had moved much, the Golden Snitch had not been spotted yet. **

**"God Damn! Potter just got slammed there!" McGonagall began to yell at Smith for the language. Lita lowered her hands from her mouth. Harry had just made his move when what they called a Bludger, came around and slammed right into his back, in what looked like right between his shoulder blades. Instead of stopping, Harry continued on quickly without stopping, speeding closer and closer to the stands. "Potter is out of control! He's dive bombing towards the stands!**

**"Lita! Get out of the way! The Snitch!" Jake shouted as Harry hurtled towards her. No time to react, she noted a gold glint near her front, and Harry almost ready to crash into her. He reached out as she reached up to block him and their right hands clasped together. His forehead rammed into her left shoulder as his chest slammed into her stomach. Lita was completely knocked off of her feet and the other students dove to get out of the way. She landed hard on her back, definitely getting splinters lodged into her skin.**

**Harry groaned, both from the landing at the Bludger's attack. Lita blushed, she expected him to jump right off of her, but he wasn't moving at all. **

**"Harry?"**

**"Don't move your hand." Was his weak reply. It was then that she felt that soft twittering feeling, like tiny wings brushing against her palm. **

**"Harry Potter has caught the Snitch! GRYFFINDOR WINS!!" Harry stood up, keeping their hands clasped, he helped her up. Everyone cheered loudly, besides the Ravenclaws and the Slytherins. Harry looked over to the blushing cat and smiled, lifting up her arm, revealing the twittering wings between their hands. The whistle blew and the cheers were deafening.**

**The party was on the Gryffindor Common Room, everyone was thanking Lita for the excellent assist. A warm beverage titled Butterbeer was being passed among the students. Lita wouldn't touch it until it was confirmed by Jholise that the drink didn't contain alcohol. It slid down her throat sweetly, tasting not of butter as she had expected. It tasted of butterscotch that wasn't overdosed with sugar.**

**"Hi." Lita smiled up at Harry as he sat nonchalantly on the arm of her plushy armchair. "Thanks for the help." **

**"It could have been anyone." Lita shrugged as she said this.**

**"And then I would be thanking them." Lita rolled her eyes and smiled. **

**"Where's Romilda? Shouldn't you be partying it up or something?" **

**"We broke up." There were no emotions in Harry's eyes when he said this, and he was shocked to see true remorse in her eyes.**

**"Oh, I'm sorry. You okay?"**

**"Better, actually. I just couldn't breathe being with her." That was partially true. Lita nodded thoughtfully. "I have something to give you." Lita blinked as Harry placed a little golden ball into her open palm. **

**"Is this...?" Harry nodded.**

**"The Snitch we caught? Yeah." Lita looked up at him confused.**

**"Are you allowed to keep this?" **

**"They use a new Snitch for every Quidditch match anyway. And I asked if I could keep this one, and the Headmaster agreed. And I thought you'd like it, seeing as though it was your first Quidditch Game, and you really got into it." Lita giggled and Harry chuckled in reply. **

**"Guess I did, didn't I? Promise I'll keep it to a spectators sport next time." Harry nodded, setting his mug of Butterbeer on his thigh and leaned back against the back the chair. Thinking of the days events and maybe some future ones.**


	16. Chapter Fifteen: From Detested To Cheris

**Soul of Steel (Chapter Fifteen) From Detested To Cherished**

(I hope you guys enjoy tonights episode and remember to review and tell me what you think about it. I work hard on these, I would really like to know what everyone thinks about it. So please enjoy and review nicely!)

Lita tapped her fingers against the hard oak table, awaiting Filch. During the night, Edward had dropped a letter upon her lap. It was from the Headmaster, he had finally set her detention day, and it was this Sunday afternoon. From Harry's description, students were to clean various parts of the castle, without magic, and usually lasted three to four hours. Or until the advisor allowed them to leave. Lita had no problem with the whole, non-magic thing, for she couldn't do magic anyway. But the staying for three or four hours part did make her swear colorfully. She had lots of studying to do, she did fantastic on essays in all her classes, which was truly the reason she was still allowed to take classes such as Charms, Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts which consisted off lots of magic, which she couldn't do.

"Girl!" Filch stepped into the Golden Frame, Mrs. Norris at his heels. But seeing who stood behind him made her jaw hit the table. Standing tall in his leasure clothes, pointed, pale face and all, was Draco Malfoy. Filch limped down the aisle between two of the house tables, motioning for her to follow him. Lita stood up, both hands on the table, closing her eyes and let out a sigh. She cleared her mind, maybe Malfoy wasn't here for detention, maybe he was here for studying or he was meeting some friends. There was no reason to jump to conclusions.

"How did I get so lucky as to get detention with you?" Draco said in the suavest voice he could muster. Lita's heart sunk, she was stuck with this prat for the next four hours. What had she done to deserve this hell? Draco pushed his hands into his pockets and kept a few paces behind her. Filch opened a door behind the Head Table. It was small and thin, and had obviously not been re-sanded or replaced since it had been placed there. Lita fit through it fine, but Draco had to duck considerably to keep from hitting his head on the door frame.

The room Lita walked into however was not small at all. The room had a high ceiling, much like the Great Hall. Yet unlike her food sanctuary, this room was one fourth the size of the Great Hall. It was filled with book shelves, covered in glass, that held various plaques, badges and certificates. Separate tall cases held large extravagant trophies and cups.

"Make 'em shine." Filch gave them a sick smile, dropped a bucket of water, wash clothes and scrubbing brushes before them and walked back out of the door. Lita wanted to ask a million questions. Why wasn't he staying to watch them? Were they supposed to clean everything? When were they supposed to leave? Why wasn't he staying!? The last thing she wanted was to be alone with Malfoy. She had heard many not so nice stories about... Draco groaned loudly to get her attention.

"I just hate these detentions. This is House Elf work." Lita grabbed a brush and ignoring Draco, walked over to a unique trophy on the opposite side of the room. The cup was silver and clear and seemed to be filled with a clear liquid filled with blue glitter. But when she picked it up, the liquid like part didn't move, not even the glitter moved. It was labeled the Tri-Wizard Cup. A gold plate beneath it read "In Memory of Cedric Diggory. He will never be forgotten." Forgotten.

"Who is Cedric Diggory?" She asked out loud, expecting no answer.

"Seventh year Hufflepuff who died three years ago." Draco replied nonchalantly.

"How did he die?" Lita was becoming more and more curious as she looked around at the other awards. Not many others were dedicated to anyone.

"No one really knows. Potter says the cup was a portkey and took them to a graveyard. Says the Dark Lord murdered him." Lita blinked slowly. "Dark Lord" was possibly the guy Harry described, Voldemort... she thought was his name.

"Think Harry's lying?" She knew he wasn't/ Harry could never kill anyone, but something with Draco's voice made it sound as though he knew something she didn't. Draco shrugged, he was becoming more uncomfortable with the conversation. "Why would the Dark Lord kill him? If that's what really happened?" Draco was silent, attempting to look as though he was concentrating on a particularly stubborn smudge.

"I don't know." He replied finally after a moment. "It sounds like it was a wrong place wrong time sort of thing."

"Are we actually having a polite conversation?" Draco smirked at her but went back to his plaque. Lita looked down at the Triwizard Cup, a small smile on her face.

* * *

Draco let out a heavy breath as he flopped down on the small two-step stairs that lead down from the door. He leaned back on his forearms, tilting his head back, he let out another sigh. Lita leaned back a little more then she needed to to clean the last trophy, watching Draco out of the corner of her eyes. His short blond hair was pushed back, showing off his pointed facial features and slate grey eyes, which at the moment were now staring straight at her. She quickly turned back to the trophy. What was happening to her? She hated Draco remember? Why was she looking at him like that? She reached down and took on of the rubber bands around her left wrist between her fingers and snapped the elastic against her fishnet covered wrist.

"What's with the elastic bands?" Draco asked, sitting up fully. Lita looked down at the small holes in her black fishnet. "I get it. You don't want to tell me. That's fine, just thought it wasn't a secret." She set the trophy back into its case, slowly moving over to Draco, she sat down on the stairs next to him, leaving a foot of air between them. She crossed her arms on her knees and sighed.

"It's a therapeutic technique that a friend taught me... to stop me from..." Lita looked back down at the floor.

"I know..." He said, his voice nearly inaudible.

"You do?" She looked back at the slate eyed Slytherin.

"Only the rumors."

"I'm sure the rumors are a lot more interesting." Draco let a slow breath out his nose and turned around so he was looking in the completely opposite direction. "Sorry, you probably don't want to talk to a Gryffindor Freak." Lita pulled her knees closer to her chest.

"You're not a freak..." Draco still wasn't looking at her, he hadn't moved a muscle except for the ones in her pointed jaw. The red-head sighed, she didn't know if she should. But she wasn't embarrassed about what she had done, and she had no reason to hide herself. Draco looked back over as he detected movement. Lita rolled up her fishnet sleeve. All the way up to her shoulder were thick jagged scabs and several scars on her lower forearm.

"Think I'm a freak now?" Draco only sat there, staring at her arm. She looked away, she had made a big mistake opening up to Draco. A soft feeling touched her forearm and she nearly jumped out of her skin. The pale blonde ran his fingers over one of her scars, he was now looking into her eyes.

"No, I don't." His finger tips ran down her forearm, sliding over the small bumps of her scars, his fingers tickled her palm and slid into the spaces between her own, gripping her hand gently. He smirked as she looked at him. "Funny what a couple of hours with me can do huh?" She began to laugh, looking the other way, rolling her eyes, but she didn't let go of his hand. "We aren't all totally vile you know? Slytherins. I'm sure Potter has tried to steer you away from me."

"A little bit..." A soft touch on her cheek lead her lips into Draco's. First thing she noticed, he was an amazing kisser. His hand ran through her long red hair, resting on the back of her head. He broke the kiss for seconds at a time, just to continue to kiss her. When he finally broke it, he had both hands on the sides of her head. She smiled at him, bringing up her hands to grip his forearms.

"Is that a yes?"

"To what?" His head twitched forward slightly, attempting to move her into the question.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" She stared into those slate grey eyes, a part of her wanted to say no, her old self that loved Ed with everything. But Ed was gone, she had no way to get home. Ed had probably long forgotten her, and Winry had more then likely seduced him right into her bed. He might have long forgotten her by now, why didn't she deserve to be happy as long as she was here? She smiled and nodded quickly.

* * *

"Looks like someone had a good detention!" Shadow jumped up from one of the red armchairs and skipped over to her. "Why so happy!? You're never happy."

"Thanks, Shay." But the smile would not come off of her face.

"Spill it, come on." Lita smiled.

"Draco had a detention with me... and he asked me out!" Shadow blinked at her.

"So why is that a good thing?" Lita's expression fell, her eyebrows raised.

"Why isn't what a good thing?" Harry set his arm around Lita, making her jump. "How was detention?"

"Lita has a new boyfriend, and it isn't someone you'll like." Shadow leaned to the side as she said that, hands locked behind her. Lita looked at Harry, his face was straight as stone, looking at her.

"What?" He grabbed her upper arm, forcing her to look at him. He leaned down so he was closer to her level. "Who is it?" Lita looked down, pressing her lips together.

"Draco Malfoy..."

"WHAT!?" The entire common room had grown quiet, looking over chairs and jumping out of sleep. "You can't date him!" Lita crossed her arms over her chest, raising her eyebrows.

"And why not?" Harry suddenly looked surprised.

"Well... because... I... You just can't!"

"At least Draco was man enough to actually ask me out. If you liked me as much as everyone says that you do, then maybe you would have grown some balls and asked me first!" Lita stormed up the Girl's Dormitory stairs. Harry looked around angrily at the growing crowd.

"Okay, who told her I liked her!?" Everyone looked at each other, waiting for someone to answer.

"You like her, mate?" Hermione rolled her eyes and hit Ron over the head with the stack of parchment she was holding.

"No! I don't!" Harry shouted and turned on his heel.

Lita huffed and snuggled closer into her pillow. Slowly, she turned to her bedside dresser.

"Don't even think about it, I removed all the glass last week." Lita blinked, looking over at Jholise. She had her back turned to Lita's bed, she was hunched over, writing with an exotic blue tipped, black eagle feather quill. She hadn't turned at all, Lita would have heard it. She smirked to herself, and dropped her head back into her pillow. At least she still had friends who were looking out for her.


	17. Chapter Sixteen: Me Casa Es Tu Casa

**Soul of Steel (Chapter Sixteen) Me Casa Es Tu Casa**

"And basically he says, I can't date you!" Draco rolled his eyes and tossed a rock into the nearly frozen Black Lake. His loveable girlfriend had been going on about Potter and his antics for the past month and it was becoming rather annoying. She was sitting beside him, snow coming down resting in her dark red hair softly. Those metal ears were nearly invisible against the white snow.

"Lita, shut up." Red eye brows raised as she turned to look at her 'boyfriend'.

"Excuse me?" Lips pressed into hers and she was pushed back into the snow. Shivering from the freezing wetness that seeped through her cloak and onto her bare skin. His right hand found its way onto her waist, brining his body to hover mere inches above hers. She did not deny the kiss however, she allowed it fully, bringing her hands to his shoulders, squeezing them gently. He pushed his tongue through her lips and into her mouth.

"Come over..." Draco said, pouring hot puffs of breath into her face.

"Huh?" Draco eased up, allowing Lita to sit up.

"Winter break is in a week, I want you to come home with me to meet my parents." Lita blinked slowly.

"No..."

"Why not!?"

"I don't know. I just don't feel comfortable going home with you for two weeks. And meeting your parents and everything. It's just so overwhelming. And what if they don't like me? I'll have no where else to go because Hohenheim is probably going to stay here and Harry doesn't want anything to do with me..."

"All the reason for you to come home with me." Draco was gripping her hand rather hard. "And my parents will absolutely love you. You're gorgeous, you're smart, you're simple, you're kind, easy to please..." He touched her nose fondly and she smiled. "And did I mention gorgeous?"

"Yes, you did. And I know what you're trying to do. You're trying to compliment me into going home with you." Draco's face instantly dropped. He wasn't working with a mindless bimbo here. "And it's working really well." He smirked.

* * *

"Who put the Owlery so far away from the rest of the school?" Lita wrapped her black hoodie closer to her body in attempt to keep her body heat. Filch obviously didn't bother to come up here, for the steps were still extremely icy. By the time she reached half way up to the Owlery, she had forgotten why she had even gone up. Why had I gone u...! Lita was stopped mid thought, her foot had missed a step and she was falling. Her nose just pressed into the icy stone step when she stopped falling. A strong arm was holding her up and pulling her onto her feet. Her golden eyes stared back into bright green ones. She only stood there, staring at him, she couldn't think of anything else to do.

"Lita." Harry replied as coldly as the wind that was hitting her face. He was addressing her as if she was an old mutual business partner from years ago. She straightened up, sticking her hands into her cold hoodie pockets.

"Harry." She was half expecting him to stick out his arm and give her a cold handshake.

"I don't like you." Harry said flatly. Lita raised her eyebrows, all her weight shifted to her left leg as she crossed her arms.

"Well, I don't like you either." His eyes grew wide.

"I didn't mean it like that..."

"So then what did you mean?" Harry stared at her, by her looks, he knew she could probably pummel him to death before he could reach for his wand.

"You know what?!"

"What!?"

"You're an idiot!" She clenched her fists, her arms had become straight as boards at her side. She bent forward a bit, yelling now.

"Yeah, well so are you!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!" Harry and Lita turned at the same time, crashing into each other, falling into opposite sides of the walk way, both now sitting in snow. "Get out of my way!"

"You were in my way!" Lita stood up, brushed herself off, and continued back up the stairs quickly.

"As if." Harry huffed and stood up.

"Dumb bitch..." His eyes grew wide. Had he just said that out loud.

"Fucking jackass." She hadn't turned to look at him, but continued up the stairs. Harry huffed and walked down the stairs carefully, meeting a pair of angry gold eyes at the end.

"What are you looking at?" He jumped at the vicious growl he got in return and quickly stepped away from the overgrown house cat.

* * *

"Stupid jerk... what right does he have to say that to me!?" Lita clutched the State Alchemist Pocket Watch that she had re-attached around her neck. It seemed like it was yesterday that Harry was acting all quiet when she looked at him and laughed when she accidentally got ink on her nose when she fell asleep in History of Magic. And now he wouldn't even speak to her, just because she was dating Draco? God, with this Voldemort person running around killing people you would think that he would have better things to worry about then her personal life. What right did he have to tell her who she can and can't date anyway? Who was he? Her dad?

A large black eagle owl caught Lita's attention as she finally reached the owlry. That was Draco's owl, Falcone. There was a letter attached to his leg. A smirk crept onto Lita's face and she snuck over to Falcone, not wanting to disturb the other owls. He let out a deep hoot as she came close to him, he recognized her. She noted that Edward was asleep under his wing.

"Aww... taking the role of foster father there, Falcone?" Animals could always calm her down when she was stressed. She stroked his silky midnight blue feathers. As she stared into his black eyes, she noticed a faint similarity to Roy Mustang. Same color, same commanding power, same loud mouth... A large black eagle standing on a desk in a blue military outfit popped into her head. Mustowl was squawking at Edling and Litling who were hiding their heads under their wings. A loud squawk followed by a big white egg rolling onto the floor made Lita laugh out loud, making Edward jump awake.

"Sorry." Slowly, she unraveled the scroll and read it.

**It worked father, she is coming  
****And please tell Mum to be nice...  
Draco**

Lita raised an eyebrow, had Draco's father been the one who invited her over in the first place... Why did he want to meet her so soon? Did Draco need their approval before he continued dating her? They were a very rich family and she didn't really know how that worked... She quickly rolled the paper up and secured it back to Falcone's leg. She was now more nervous then ever to meet Draco's parents...


	18. Chapter Seventeen: Meet The Malfoys

**Soul of Steel (Chapter Seventeen) Meet The Malfoys**

"Are you okay?" Jholise, one of the few Gryffindors who still talked to her, looked up from the book she was reading. Since waking up at 6 a.m Lita had packed, unpacked, repacked and cleaned the Girl's bathroom. She was now scrubbing down the wooden floor.

"Yeah, I'm fine. You know? I'm better then fine! I'm great, absolutely great. I'm so great it may evolve into fantastic. I'm so great!" Lita stopped when Jholise raised an eyebrow. "What?" The red head stood up, throwing the towel away. "Okay, fine. I'm going to Draco's for the break. Which means I'm going to meet his parents... And I never thought I would have to do that. And Draco's parents must be rich and an old wizarding family. I don't have anything close to nice to wear! And I can't even do magic. The only reason I'm really here is because of Hohenheim." Lita sighed. "So needless to say. I'm nervous. And I clean when I'm nervous."

Lita looked at Jholise as she went back to her book. Her long dark hair was up in a messy bun as she sat in bed. She had very light blue eyes. A color she had never seen before. She was still in bed and in her pajama's. She hadn't brushed her teeth or done her make up yet that morning. But her bags were all packed. Now that she though about it, everyone's bags were packed. She didn't know much about the other two girls other then their names. Lavender Brown and Parvarti Patil were the kind of girls Lita didn't get along with. They were nice and all. But kinda girly and laughed way to loud. Hermione was packed as well. She secretly told Lita that she was going to the Burrow for the break for Ron's brother's wedding.

Hermione wasn't allowed to talk to Lita in public anymore. Or she would suffer the wrath and disowning of Ron and Harry, who both hated her guts at the moment. But when they were in the Dorm Ginny and Hermione still talked to Lita as though nothing had happened. They were girls. They knew how girls worked and emotions and boys. They knew what she was going through. Shadow's bags were packed as well, but Lita hadn't seen her all morning.

"Who are you spending the holidays with?" Jholise looked up from her book once again. She was probably checking to see if Lita was talking to her.

"My brothers. I have two older brothers, Sage and Aiden. They're Aurors in France. Shadow is spending the break with us as well." Lita nodded. Her and Shadow were going to France. Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione were going to England. And she was going to Wiltshire. There was no possible way they would all come back together until January. Not like Harry would want to anyway. So maybe it was best they weren't going to see each other for a couple of weeks. It would give them both time to calm down. You never know maybe they would come back to school and become friends again.

Jholise stood up. It was 10:30 am. In half an hour, the Hogwarts Express would be pulling into the station. They would reach King's Cross at 8 pm. And at 9:30 she would be asleep in her bed at the Malfoy Manor. Long rides in cars or trains tired her out. It was strange. She could run for hours and still work on homework or paper work that night. But if she sat in a car for several hours, she would be exhausted.

Lunch was soon to be over and Draco was sure to be there. Grabbing her trunk, she started down the stairs. Three months ago Silo was able to take her shopping since he was Head Boy. Her trunk was full of clothes, books and robes. It had to be at least 15 pounds. She was quickly out of breath by the time she got out of the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Need some help with that?" A spiky haired blond boy flicked his wand and her trunk became feather light. Silo walked up towards Lita and her mouth nearly dropped. Silo was wearing a black sweater with a white button undershirt and jeans. She had never seen Silo in "street clothes". The baggy, layered school uniform his a lot of things in every student. It was weird because Silo always seemed like the type that wore his uniform outside of school as well. She didn't know he even owned "muggle clothes". "You look very nice today." Lita looked down. She had worn a t-shirt with large heart peace signs in graffiti neon writing and jeans. Her fishnet still covered her scars. She couldn't decide which Draco's parents would hate more. Fishnet or self-inflicted scars. Fishnet seemed more logical.

"Thanks. You too. So, I guess you're still talking to me?" Silo raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, hi Lita. Sorry I was talking to the girl behind you." She turned around, but there was no one there.

"Oh, I get it..." She laughed half-heartedly.

"Hey, sweety." Jake and Shadow came through the hallway. Shadow was in her usual short shirt and Jake in jeans, chains and a t-shirt.

"Hi Shadow. Jake." They all looked at each other as Jholise came down the stairs, looking like she had spent hours in the bathroom.

"I guess this is the last time we'll be seeing each other until next year." Even Jholise joined in the huge group hug. Lita smiled, happy that she still had friends. This proved to her that no matter what she did, they would always be on her side. Harry walked by them and he caught Lita's eye. They stared at each other for a moment, and his mouth switched into a thin smile before continuing out the door. Maybe he was starting to forgive her.

* * *

"Where are we going?" Draco had her by the hand and was taking her across a large empty village. A lot of the shops had Sold Out signs. A lot more then they had in September. Lita knew the Hogwarts Express was stationed in Hogsmeade Station. But Draco had lead her away for reasons unknown. "Draco!" He stopped at the edge of the village.

"We're gonna take a quicker way." He pulled out his wand.

"What are you talking about?" He smiled reassuringly.

"It's called Apparating. Instantly going from one place to another. Why bother with pointless, time consuming train rides when we can just skip that step." He took her hand affectionately. "Just hold onto your trunk and trust me, okay?"She raised an eyebrow, but gripped her trunk and Draco's hand. He tapped his head and Lita jumped. It felt as though a giant was trying to suck her through a straw. She felt as though she was the rope in a tug of war match. It was becoming hard to breath, her ribs were surly rubber. Her chest was inside the straw, and she was gonna suffocate. When she was sure she was never going to breathe again. It stopped.

She was standing on a snow covered lawn. White in every direction as far she could see. Beautiful trees surrounded them, they were away from the main road. A long shoveled driveway lead up to a large iron gate that stretched to the trees on either side of them.

"What is your business?" The Gate was now a voice and it was speaking to Draco.

"Draco Malfoy." Was all that was said before the iron gate swung open. "Come on." He lead her inside the gate closed behind her. The grounds were lined with hedges that were trimmed to perfection. In the center was a large water fountain that was the size of a pool. The water was still flowing even in the cold weather. Lita nearly screamed when something moved against the white ground. A white peacock walked across the snow majestically, she wouldn't have noticed them if they weren't moving. They were absolutely beautiful, she wanted to run up and cuddle them as if they were kittens. But what caught her attention was the large mansion ahead. Made of stone and several stories high, it looked over the entire lawn like an owl. Candle lights were flickering weakly in the diamond pained windows. She would have to sneak out and look at the mansion from the outside at night. The mansion was sure to be pretty with the snow and the lights in the windows. Draco didn't bother to stop as he approached the door. It opened as he continued to walk towards it. But as Lira stepped inside, there was no one inside the house to open the door.

"Welcome home, son." Lita's jaw dropped. A very handsome man in long, dark robes was standing at the top of a large staircase. His hair reached his shoulders, and gleamed blond in the candle light. He looked exactly like Draco, handsome grey eyes of stone. He was standing beside a slightly shorter woman. Her hair was long and blond as well. She looked rather snobbish under all that beauty.

"Hello, father." Lita wouldn't look into either of their eyes. They were rich, and proper and beautiful. She was nothing like them. And she knew that they would never accept their son dating her. They walked down the stairs like a king an queen walking to their throwns.

"Lucius Malfoy. Draco has told us so much about you, Lita." Mr. Malfoy was at least a foot taller then her. Which wasn't a difficult fete to accomplish, of course. Much like his home, he commanded respect by merely standing there. He extended a hand that was covered in leather. Bit she wasn't sure it was cow leather. His right hand was holding onto a long black cane that held a silver snake head at the tip.

"Thank you, Mr. Malfoy..." She took his hand slowly. She couldn't think of anything else to say. In fear that she would do something wrong.

"Such a polite girl..." He said softly as he moved aside. His wife was looking her up and down skeptically. "This is my wife, Narcissa." Mr. Malfoy introduced her. Instead of looking at Lita, Narcissa turned to Draco.

"I never expected her to be such an ordinary girl." Lita's face fell, she bit her tongue and swallowed an insult. Narcissa turned around on her heel. The hem of her dress disappearing behind a corner. Lita blinked slowly. Draco was covering his eyes, shaking his head.

"Oh, don't mind my wife." Lucius smiled reassuringly. "My wife has always had a problem with women prettier than her.


	19. Chapter Eighteen: SOS

**Soul of Steel (Chapter Eighteen) S.O.S**

Lita's room was absolutely extravagant. Everything was green, silver or black and had a snake embroidered on it. Her bed could fit four people and several dogs for sure. A large beautiful fireplace held a roaring fire all hours of the day. It never seemed to die down. Edward was sleeping peacefully with Falcone on a coat rack. Selene, who Jake's wolf had partnered with. Were now roaming the Forbidden Forest while they were away.

She smiled, remembering how Hermione reacted the first time she met Selene. She was afraid when she found a large black panther lying in Lita's bed. But when Lita explained the situations, all was well, Selene was gone during the day. Hunting and slinking around the grounds at will. But at night she was always at the foot of Lita's bed. No one paid any attention. She was there after most went to bed and gone before they woke up.

Lita always wondered how she got in and out of the castle without petting caught. Maybe everyone thought she fit into the cat category. So they just let her go to and fro. Similar to the owls in the castle. But her heart ached for the castle now that she was away from it. No one had sent her any letters. No one. And that bothered Lita. She was hoping to get a lot of letters from her friends once she learned that there was very little to do here. Lucius was gone all day. He worked at the Ministry of Magic, which seemed to be the equivalent of Parliament. She didn't know exactly what he did. And Narcissa was gone most of the day as well. But Lita didn't know what she did either. Even Draco would disappear from time to time. He always said he had been "out" but would never tell her exactly where he had been.

So Lita spent a lot of her time searching the Manor. Its not as though she was looking for anything. She just liked to know the layout of where she was staying. A trick she picked up in the Military. A trick that could save her life. Lucius knew she did so, only because he caught her coming back up the stairs one night. He merely chuckled, agreeing with her reasons. He only had two requests. To not go into the basement and to not attempt to get into any locked doors. He bid his good nights and smiled as he slipped back into his room.

* * *

Snow whipped a red cloak around violently A curled up figure trudged through the knee deep snow. A nearly collapsed house stood against the pure white horizon. The door opened as if expecting the shivering person.

A tall man in an eye patch stood in the door way. His midnight black hair was covered by a fur hat. He was dressed in a blue military uniform, even though he was honorably discharged. The red hood was lowered to reveal a young brunette. "Alphonse..." The older man spoke softly.

"It's time, sir." Roy straightened up. So Edward finally figured out what he needed, His eye lingured on a red head with cat ears. Maybe... he would finally have her back.

"Lita..." Roy followed Al outside without another word.

"You know how hard it is to find you?" Al questioned as he carefully stepped back into the prints he had all ready made.

"Fairly difficult I'm sure." Roy replied quietly. Shortly after the formation of Parliament and the death of Lita. Roy had taken off. He needed some time away from civilization. Time to think. Time to remember. Time to regret. Time to grieve.

"We would have been able to start sooner. But we couldn't do it without you." In truth, they needed four powerful Alchemists to accomplish what Ed was planning. Ed, Al and after some convincing Armstrong had agreed to help. Roy had vowed to give up Alchemy after Lita's death. But when Ed suggested bringing her back in a way that didn't involve Human Transmutation. Roy was all for it, saying he would help in any way he could.

"Well, I'm here now..." And he would be until the end.

* * *

Draco and Lita sat in her room studying. Or more Lita was attempting to work while Draco was sucking on her neck. She found it difficult to draw the tail of her Thestral when he was running his hand over her stomach.

"Draco, stop it." A knock on the door halted his actions. Lucius entered the room as Draco straightened.

"Come, son. I want a word." He was standing right behind them after only a few steps. Draco stood up exiting the room first. He rested a bare hand on her shoulder. Running his hand over the soft skin and he halted on her neck. His long fingers ran over the side of her neck slowly before he eft. Lita blinked, shivering at the events that had just transpired. Lately, she had become uncomfortable being in the same room as Lucius alone.

A hoot was her only warning as an envelope landed on her drawing. "Lita Elric" was written in scrawly black letters on the front. She picked it up and opened it. Excited to finally hear from a friend. But what she read chilled her blood.

**Lita. This is Sage Hildon. Jholise Hildon's brother. The train was attacked by Death Eaters and we can't find anyone. Please send a reply if you're unharmed.**

**Sage Hildon**

Lita reread the letter several times before setting it down slowly. Everyone is missing? They were attacked... Death Eaters. Harry had once called Draco's father a Death Eater. But she wouldn't believe him. But he did work in the Ministry, maybe they knew something about the train attack.

"Don't worry, father, she had no clue." Lita stopped at the handle. "You know how hard it is to keep up this dumb boyfriend act."

"Well, son. You know what the Dark Lord has asked you to do. His mistress has asked for her specifically. And we can't lose her because of Wormtail's idiocy. If she ever went downstairs."

"Oh what does it matter? Her and Potter are enemies any way. She wouldn't help him even if she knew he was down there..." Lita covered her mouth and backed away from the door. They were all behind this. Her pocket watch suddenly became cold against her skin. She knew what she had to do. She ran over to her desk, scrawling out a quick note to Sage.

**Sage, I know where they are. They are in the basement of the Malfoy Manor. I'm here and fine. Come as quick as you can, I'll get them out in the mean time.**

**Lita**


	20. Special: What Do We Do?

**Soul of Steel (Special) What Do We Do?**

* * *

**(Hello! Everyone!! Hey guys! Welcome to the 20th anniversary chapter! And I'm celebrating with a not even real chapter! Awesome huh!? Yeah, I know. So all, just sit back and enjoy the meaningless comedy.)**

* * *

Heels clacked against the stone floor as Lita ran through the basement of the Malfoy Manor. There were several hooded men on her heels. She couldn't stop in fear of getting caught. She had to get to the basement. She had to free her friends. And she had to do it before anyone else could get to them first. She was still on the top floor and needed to get into the basement. Lucky for Lita, the Malfoys had a spiral staircase that stopped at every floor.

Lita grabbed the railing with her left hand and vaulted herself over the staircase. The wind flew through her red hair as she free fell several floors before she landed on a cold stone floor. She had some ground now. The Death Eaters weren't dumb enough to try and jump several stories. They would have to walk down the stairs. She had some time. But not much. A mass of people were trapped inside of a full wall cage.

"Harry..." She gripped the bars as she stared into those gorgeous green eyes. "I'm so sorry for not trusting you... I'll just stop blabbing and get you out..." Lita went for the lock, but she had nothing to get it open with. As Luna was handing her a rusty nail something beeped within the confines of the cell. Harry took a beeping cell phone that was lighting up the basement. "Um... Harry we're kinda in the middle of something. And that arm is supposed to be broken."

"It's the Head. She's calling." He answered the phone and everyone popped out of their coma/unconsciousness to watch. Lita blinked slowly. The Head never called in the middle of a chapter. The group talks always happened before. All characters in a chapter were called to the Head Office. They got the script, ran over the synopsis and then they went to work. But they were never stopped in the middle.

"What did she say?" Ron asked as Harry got off the phone. Harry's face was snow white.

"She's going on vacation... For a year..." Lita nearly screamed.

"A year! What are we supposed to do for a year! Isn't she at least going to write us out of the Manor. She's leaving us all in a cliffhanger. People are going to complain about this on LiveJournal! Or worse yet, we're gonna get thrown into other peoples fan fiction while we wait! I like my job!!" Lita jumped as the Death Eaters lead by Voldemort and Lucius Malfoy ran into the room.

"Oh, what a fitting end... Trapped like rats..." Voldemort slithered.

"Hold the script, no nose. We have a problem." The Death Eaters all looked at each other. Almost simotainesely thick booklets were pulled from beneath black cloaks.

"That wasn't in the script." They all said in unison like a robot. "Neither is that." "Or that."

"Stop it!" Lita screamed over the bickering the Death Eaters. "We got a call from the Head."

"The Head?" Lucius asked, taking off his mask. "In the middle of a Chapter?"

"Yeah. She's leaving for a year. That means she isn't gonna write either!" Lita said, not bothering to speak proper English anymore.

"Leaving! Now? She isn't even gonna write us out of this part? She's gonna leave us all in a cliffhanger? Oh, people are not gonna be happy about this..." The cage was opened the students, who's "injuries" miraculously went away, stepped out.

"So?" Lita spoke up as they all stood around with their hands in their pockets. "What do we do?"

* * *

Harry stared intently across the table. Voldemort stared back just as harshly.

"Voldemort. Have any sevens?"

"Go fish."

* * *

**(Now you guys may have guessed why I did this. I got the idea a couple days after WB announced they were pushing back the release of HP 6 for a whole nother year. And you can guess why. Because of how well the "Dark Knight" did and that kids will be out of school. Which to me makes no sense. Because Kids are out of school in November, for Winter Break and parents would get their kids tickets for christmas. And true HP fans will go see the movie no matter what month they released it. So, I needed to get my frustration out by writing this little comedy peice. There may be more special episode/chapters like this. Maybe not, I don't know. But I hoped you enjoyed it!)**


	21. Chapter 19: Battle of the Malfoy Manor

**Soul of Steel (Chapter Nineteen) Battle of the Malfoy Manor**

Lita ran down the long hall way. She had very little time to get her friends out of the basement. The Malfoys were not dumb. But neither was she. She knew this secret organization met here. They had brought her to the heart of their Headquarters for a reason. Their mistress apparently knew her. And wanted her for some reason. But thew miscalculated one thing about her. She would always rescue her friends. No matter how badly they treated her. Everyone of her friends held a special place in her heart. They were a part of her for life. She would never turn her back on them.

A long spiral staircase lead down to the basement. The Death Eaters would have to climb all the way down the stairs. She had gained some time on them. And time at the moment was essential. She grabbed the railing with her left hand and jumped over. She free fell within the eye of the spiral staircase. Knee bent and arms over her head, she kept her eyes on the ground. She landed on her feet, tail twitching dangerously. She was ready for a fight that she knew was coming.

Kicking in a door, she walked into a pitch black room. It was freezing inside. Lita could feel the pupils in her eyes thinning and stretching. Someone screamed as her golden eyes glowed in the darkness. She could see everything. The room was virtually one big cage. It was cold and dirt and there were many figures inside.

Lita ran to Harry's side of the cage. He was resting against the lower left hand corner. His arm clearly was broken. He was very scratched up. He had obviously been beaten.

"Lita..." He spoke softly, reaching out with his right arm. "I'm so sorry..." Lita reached out, slipping her finger between the bars, touching his swollen ones.

"No, Harry. This is all my fault. I should have listened to you..." Tears fell from her eyes as she felt the scabs on his fingers. He was hunting and it was all of her fault. Jholise, Ron, Hermione, Silo, Luna, Ginny, Dean, Neville, an old man and a very short man with very pointy features inhabited the cage along with Harry. "Don't worry, guys. I'll get you out of here."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. And how do you expect to do that?" A gruff voice asked from behind her. She turned around. Blocking her left hand with her body purposely. This man could not walk lightly. Or breathe quietly for that matter. He was tall. His hair was matted and greying. His teeth were sharp and there were scabs forming in the corners of his mouth. His black cloak was nearly bursting at the chest, shoulders and biceps. She could hear the stitches crying.

Lita's pointer and middle fingers slipped into her sleeve, retrieving a razor she had hidden there. Along with a long thin wand. The wand she had stolen from Draco while making out with him after she heard his original plans a couple of hours before. Harry grasped them in fear. She was about to fight Fenrir Greyback. She was feisty, but he would tear her apart...

"Lita... don't fight him. Run as fast as you can."

"Quiet, Potter. Grown ups talking here..." He smiled sickly. "If the girl wishes to meet an early grave. Let her..." Lita stood up slowly, arms at her sides, eyes never leaving the man. "Here, kitty." Lita smiled.

"Cats come when they feel like it. Not when they're told." Lita jumped over the tall man's head. He slammed into the steel bars loudly, but he shook it off easily. Lita took for the stairs, jumping onto the railing, running as quickly as she could. But she wasn't running to get away. She was running to get him away from her friends. She knew cowardly men like that. He would grab one of her friends and hold them hostage. Lita always became emotional when one of her friends was in danger. She couldn't trust herself in a situation like that. Lita wrenched the door open and ran outside.

Lita gasped and nearly screamed. She stopped mid-step, falling backwards into the snow, still sliding. A group of black robed men in skeleton mask stood before her. Headed by Lucius Malfoy. She stared up at them with wide eyes as Fenrir stepped up behind her, his toes touching her fingers. She couldn't get her body to move as Malfoy pulled a wand out of his cane, the snake head as the handle. "Say goodbye."

"Duck!" A deep voice called. Lita ducked just as a red light soared past her ear. It hit Lucius in the chest and he flew backwards, taking several Death Eaters with him. She turned around to meet Fenrir's claws. He swiped angrily, catching her side with three claws. She was thrown backwards, hitting the side of the Malfoy Manor. Blood poured to the white snow, infecting the pure blank ground with her crimson blood. She couldn't look, for the first gash was so deep she could see the bone of a rib. She sat there, back against the cold stone, taking slow and shallow breaths. Every time her heart beat, blood gushed onto the ground. Her vision began to blur as it became harder to breathe.

* * *

Edward set his piece of chalk beside the large Transmutation Circle that he had finished upon the stone floor. He had cleared South Headquarters City so no one could bother him as he made the Transmutation Circle. But now that he had finished it, he felt empty He had kept himself busy, but when he wasn't busy. He began to think which was bad. And all of his thoughts always returned to one girl. And he would never stop until he had her back.

"Greetings, Edward Elric." Alex Armstrong walked up to him. Ed didn't answer, only nodded in acknowledgment.

"Full Metal..." Edward turned to stare into the eye of Roy Mustang. Ed scoffed. Since Lita's death, Ed had begun to feel a spark of competition. And Edward didn't like it. Ed sighed turning away from Mustangs out stretched hand.

"Let's just do this." Armstrong and Roy exchanged looks before settling into their spots. "Al." A large suit of armor was standing beside the Transmutation Circle. Alphonse pressed his hand against the armor and it's eyes lit up. Ed had no clue if this would work. And he wouldn't harm someone in the process of saving someone. Even if it was Lita. The armor walked to the middle of the Transmutation Circle as Al kneeled by the edge. "Ready?" Al nodded to his brother. They all pressed their hands onto the chalk markings. The armor began to sink into the floor like quicksand.

* * *

Lita's eyelids drooped as her strength leaving her. A hundred different people were fighting around her. But she couldn't pin point anybody. Their faces were twisted and blurred in her eyes. She could only lay there as her life poured out of her and dripped into the snow. Out of habit or desperation, Lita clapped her hands weakly and pushed them into her own pool of blood. A yellow light emitted from the red liquid. A green light bounced off a steadily growing figure that had settled itself in front of her. The wounds on her stomach sealed themselves instantly. Black lines traced themselves around her stomach, as though someone was drawing on her with black ink. The symbol that was on the watch Jake had given her was traced around her stomach, her belly button in the center. An Ouroboros made up the circle around the star.

"Lita... you're a..." Al stared down at her from above. "Homunculus." Lita stared at Al in disbelief.

"Al..." Lita jumped up and hugged the large suit of armor. "How are you?" Al picked her up and turned around swiftly, a green light bouncing off the shining armor.

"Lita!" Harry called out motioning her to look at him. He waved his arm. Alerting her to follow him.

"Come on!" Lita grabbed onto Al's hand leading him through the battle. A tall blond stood in their way a wand pointed at them.

"Sorry, honey. This is the end..." Al reached out and dropped his fist onto Draco's blond head. The boy crumpled to the ground like a forgotten doll.

"Sorry, hun. But if you didn't know yet, I'll tell you. We're through..." And she stepped on him as she continued on to Harry. "Long story." She knew if she gave him time, Al would ask. Harry had many of the others around him, they were all standing around what looked like a dirty wash cloth. "What are you guys doing?" Lita asked, attempting do drawing attention away from Al.

"It's a Portkey... we were just waiting for you." They all touched the wash cloth, and could only follow suit. She would get her explanation later. The same straw feeling ran through her body. Instead this time, the landing was a lot rougher. She slammed into the ground painfully. Her first instinct was to roll onto her back. She looked up, a red sunset was rising. The sky was a mixture of pink and purple. It was such a beautiful sky for a Christmas Eve Morning. Al was the first to stand, he had no injuries of course.

"Al," Lita stood up, "how did you get here?"

"We wanted a way to bring you home..." She heard a sniff. "But we have no way of getting home. Or anyway for you to get out of this one." Al looked around, staring at all the sad faces. "But it seems like you've made a life for yourself. You don't want to come back."

"No, Al..." She took the gloved hands of the suit of armor. "I want too... I just don't know how to even start." The armor began to vibrate. "What's going on?"

"After I got my body back, I learned how to put a piece of my soul into other things. But only for a limited amount of time. My time is up..." The armor began to shake more violently.

"You can't go... I just got you back..." A rough hand wiped away a glistening tear from her cheek.

"I know... I'm sorry..." The armor wrapped it's steel arms around her, leaning down as she rested her chin against his shoulder. "I love you."

"I love you too, Al." Harry watched as the re lights dimmed and Lita's knee's buckled under the weight. Slowly, she slid to the snow, her knees touched as they hit the snow. It was then that Harry watched Lita truely cry.


	22. Chapter Twenty: Merry Christmas

Soul of Steel [Chapter Twenty] Merry Christmas

Lita had shut herself in one of Ron's brothers old rooms. No one had bothered her in several hours. She had only sat alone, staring at the empty suit of armor. There was a knock on the door and it opened.

"Everything okay?" Harry asked. Her eyes were red and puffy. The second he walked into the room, his shoulders became heavy with grief by merely the atmosphere. "Can I sit here?" She nodded slowly. "I'm really sorry about what happened. I mean. I was such a jerk to you. And for no reason at all. You didn't deserve that." Slowly, he rubbed her shoulder. "Can you ever forgive me?" She turned her head to look at him. He stared into her eyes, and slowly leaned over. Quickly, she pulled him into a hug. He let out a short sigh but hugged her tightly. "Do you wanna come down and meet everyone? Or do you need some more time?" Lita stood up, stretching her legs. Mrs. Weasley had taken her bloody clothes. Her body covered in a pair of Ginny's sweat pants and red tank top. She continuously had to readjust her shirt. Ginny was smaller than Lita. Her bust was making the hem rise, showing her belly button. She wanted to change, to look decent upon meeting Harry's friends. But she had no way of doing so.

Lita say in the corner of the living room. It had taken a good twenty minutes for her to meet everyone. But after it was all over, the merriment had continued. The Weasley philosophy was not to dwell on things. Especially on Christmas Eve. But Lita had a clue that Mrs. Weasley didn't want to think about her children dying. So she hid it with parties.

**Molly Weasley:** A thinning woman with flaming red hair and kind eyes. She was always doing something. Cleaning and cooking. She had to keep herself busy.

**Arthur Weasley:** A man who's hair was like fire was thinning. He was the completely opposite of his wife. He was playful and always talking and joking.

**Bill Weasley:** Oldest of the Weasely children, his long red hair tied back in a pony tail. He had long scars on his face. He was to be married in a few days.

**Charlie Weasley:** Second oldest. His red hair curly and stuck to his head. He worked in Romania with Dragons. Lita had walked right up and hugged him for giving Edward to her.

**Fred and George Weasley:** Two nineteen year old guys who Lita still couldn't tell apart. They were jokesters telling her several cat jokes the moment she was introduced.

**Remus Lupin:** His hair was growing long, his brown locks were pulled back in a pony tail. His eyes seemed somewhat sad. Even though he had a smile when he shook her hand. He had several scars on the skin that she saw and his clothes were patched.

**Mad-Eye Moody:** This man had little more than a grunt to say to her when they met. He seemed to be war hardened, he didn't seem to even trust her until she looked right at him.

**Ollivander:** A very old man with long fingers. He was the old man she had seen in the cage in Malfoys basement. He was a wand maker who had been captured in his shop, that was located in Diagon Alley.

**Griphook:** A very mean Goblin that Harry had saved from the Malfoy Manor. Harry only dropped his name for he had left soon after being rescued.

**Fluer Delacor:** A pretty blond with a French accent. She was going to be marrying Bill in a few days. She was kind of snooty and commented on Lita's clothes and scars (Mrs. Weasley insisted on taking her fishnet too) But no one else seemed to care. Or maybe they just felt awkward. Besides Fred and George, who asked if she was mauled by a bear.

The twins sat on either side of her. "So, Lita..."

"What is up with you and Harr..."

"Fred! George!" Mrs. Weasley called. "I need help with dinner!" The twins sighed together. As they began to walk away, Lita followed them. The kitchen was probably the biggest room in the house, which wasn't saying much. But it was busy all around, even though only one person was in the she was reading a book. Dishes were washing themselves. Pans were flipping food even though no one was watching. All of this was being done solely on magic. And it was absolutely amazing.

"Is there something you need, Lita dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked as she shooed Fred and George over to a counter.

"I just wanted to know what I could help with?" She chuckled.

"After what you went through, you just need to relax."

"But mom!" The twins drowned together. "We were in the fight too!"

"Oh shush! But if you feel you need to do something, there are some boxes of Christmas decorations in the attic. I'm afraid I haven't had time to put them up." Lita smiled. It had been years since she had actually spent a Christmas on solid ground. She was always on a train or fighting somebody.

"Harry!" The green eyed boy looked up from the circle he had made with Ron and Hermione. "Mrs. Weasley said we could put up the Christmas decorations. But the boxes are in the attic. Do you wanna help me bring them down?"

"Oh don't you move a muscle. Let the men handle this..." Charlie stood up, rolling up his sleeves as his brother and father followed suit. Lita blinked slowly. She had wanted to go and do something useful. Get her mind off of what she had just seen. But everyone was telling her to take it easy.

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Lita smiled. Everyone had gotten up and started to help decorate the Burrow. Even Ollivander was helping. Lita and Ginny were circling tinsel around the tree, for they were the only one unable to do magic. Muggle Christmas lights that Hermione had brought were magically put upon the pine tree. The fire place was bombarded with stockings. Mrs. Weasley had even taken a moment to hand knit Lita a sticking. It was a deep maroon like her hair. Lita was scrawled in big gold letters across the top. Ollivander and Remus were floating candles to the ceiling, much like the Hogwarts Great Hall. Crystal and glass balls were hung on the tree by Bill and Fluer. Ron and Harry were attempting to change the various fabrics in the room to red and green. Mr. Weasley had to call his wife when Ron accidently set the armchair on fire. In a short time, the Burrow had been changed from a family home to a Christmas paradise.

"Oh, it looks absolutely wonderful!" Mrs. Weasley said as Charlie came down after wrapping the railing with tinsel. "Dinner is ready."

"Lita..." Hermione stopped Lita as she set the star on top of the tree. "I feel kinda bad that we all have room mates and you're all alone." She smiled. "So maybe these will make you smile and light up your room."

"Thank you very much, Hermione." She smiled and Lita ran to her room quickly, setting the lights on her bed.

The table was absolutely cramped with people and food. There was only one seat open between Fred and George. Somehow she felt that they made sure it happened that way. She was very happy that someone wanted to talk to her. Everyone was in conversation the moment they sat down.

"We own a joke shop in Diagon Alley. Weasley Wizarding Wheezes."

"That is so cool. I have to come check it out."

"You sure do, Kitty." Harry raised his eyebrow to the pet name. Lita looked around at the Weasleys. They had all done something amazing. Mr. Weasley worked in the ministry. Bill worked at Gringotts with Goblins. Charlie worked with dragons in Romania. Fred and George had a very successful joke shop. Ron was definitely going to become something great. Even if he didn't think so. "Yes, Harry won us the money that got us started three years ago. We owe it all to him." The twins both gave a thumbs up to Harry.

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"Should we wake her up?" Ginny asked. It was Christmas morning and Lita was snoring lightly in her bed. They had stayed up late the previous night. But the others were still wide awake early the next morning. A lot of presents were stuffed under the tree. And they were all excited to open their gifts. No one gets left behind. So they had to wake Lita up, but no one was willing to take up the task. They all knew how Lita could be when she was woken up. Harry and Hermione had scars on their arms to prove it. She had scratched them with her filed down, sharpened, black painted nails in her sleep.

"You do it..." Hermione ordered.

"Why me?" Ginny whined. "You've done it before!"

"And I don't want to do it again!" The two girls jumped as Lita rolled over.

"How can anyone possibly sleep with the two of you bickering?" Shielding her eyes, Lita blinked several times. The Christmas lights had been on all night. Even though they were small, they were bright when in mass. Bit thankfully Mrs. Weasley blacked out her window. So the little Christmas lights didn't have the sun to contend with.

"How can anyone possibley sleep in on Christmas morning?" Ginny asked, jumping up and down as if her favorite boy band had just taken the stage. Lita laid there. It was probably due to the fact that she had not celebrated Christmas in a long time. She would rather stay in bed then go downstairs and watch everyone exchange presents with each other. But then that would seem selfish and rude. So, she crawled out of bed and followed the girls down the stairs. Lita rubbed her hands together, attempting to gain heat. But instead, she got flames. Fire shot up above her hands. Lita gasped and stopped mid-step.

"Everything okay?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, sorry. I almost slipped." Lita lied.

"Be careful, the stairs aren't always the same." Lita continued down. Mustang? She snapped her fingers lightly and fire shot into the air. Lita's breathe sighed. Had she gained the Alchemic powers of those who had tried to bring her back?

"Good morning, Lita." Mrs. Weasley smiled sweetly as she handed Lita a plate with several egg and sausage sandwiches on it. Everyone had a large pile of presents setting by them. Lita didn't know where to sit. When she found an empty armchair she scurried over to it.

"Where are you going?" Harry asked.

"I was just gonna sit down..."

"You're gonna find it rather hard to reach your presents from all the way over here." Harry pointed over to a large pile of presents beside Fred and George who were setting the last present on the top of the stack. Lita's eyes grew wide, her pile was possibly bigger then anyone else's.

"Is that for me?" Lita asked in total shock.

"Of course it is. Were you expecting not to get anything for Christmas?" Harry smiled. She reminded him of how he had acted his first year at Hogwarts. Lita smiled like a kid in a candy store as she nearly skipped over to her pile of gifts. She spent hours opening and watching people open presents. She felt horrible that she hadn't gotten anyone anything. But when Harry explained the situation, Mrs. Weasley only laughed it off and said "as long as you're in the family picture, all is forgiven!" She smiled and stared at her presents.

A long peach dress for Bill and Fluer's wedding. She was to be the Maid of Honor. She attempted to decline, but Mrs. Weasley would hear none of that! Some authentic old goblin Galleons (and some newer, spendable ones) from Bill and Fluer. A miniature dragon and fingerless dragon hide gloves from Charlie. Real sweets and a "Portable Swamp" from Fred and George. More sweets from Ron. A Weasley knitted, maroon sweater with a big gold L on the front from Mrs. Weasley. A large history of magic book from Remus and his Tonks, who was busy today. A large magical creatures book from Hermione. A large bag of Muggle make-up from Ginny, which Lita was very fond of. Several jewelery pieces with the pentagram symbol from Shadow. A thick blank book from Jake. A book on psychic visions from Jholise. A large box of exotic quills and vibrant colored inks from Silo. A long black wand from Ollivander. Luna's present was probably the best. Luna had given her a picture of Lita. The details were perfect, and obviously hand painted, right down to the shine of her metallic ears.

"Everyone!" Mrs. Weasley stood up to get everyone's attention. Mr. Weasley was grinning at Lita from ear to ear. "We have one more present to give out. This present is a joint present from Hagrid and Harry. To Lita... Lita, come here dear." She could feel her fingers twitch as she stood up in front of everyone. Harry walked up to Lita and covered her eyes from behind. There was a few moments of darkness, until he finally removed his hands. There was a large rectangular box... with holes.

"Merry Christmas." Harry said. Lita leaned down and opened the box. She gasped and stepped back, her hands over her mouth. A head that looked like a skull wrapped in leather poked out from the box. They had gotten her a baby Thestral. She had worked with them in Care of Magical Creatures and was the only student in the current class who could see them. After she found out why, she fell in love with the animals. Hagrid had obviously seen this! She smiled and ran to Harry, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I love you forever!" Harry blushed as the Weasley twins oohed and Remus attempted to shush them.


	23. Chapter TwentyOne: Red Wedding

Lita's skin was pale white as she stared at herself in the mirror. Black and white was the theme of Bill and Fluer's wedding. Her heart was racing. She was nervous. Her hand pressed against her chest. It was rising quickly and a small squeak came out when she inhaled.

"Lita?" A hand squeezed her bare shoulder and she snapped out of it. Fred was standing behind her in a freshly pressed set of dress robes. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm just really, really nervous about this wedding. I shouldn't even be in it. Let alone as the Guest of Honor." She walked around him and sat on her bed with a heavy sigh.

"Why do you say that?" Fred walked over slowly and sat down next to her.

"I mean. I totally blew off my friends for some cute jerk for no reason. I put you all in danger. And I just don't look the part of a wedding." Fred smirked and looked at her ears.

"I suppose. But you know. I think this is abnormality is all in your head. Have you seen Mad-Eye or Tonks? We're not normal here. And I think you're beautiful. Tail and all." Fred reached over and brushed her crimson red locks from her face. He smiled softly.

"Chop, chop you two!" Mrs. Weasley called from the doorway and Fred immediately dropped his hand.

"Come on." He stood up. His tall frame towering over her. He out stretched his hand and she took it. She let out a deep breath and the two of them walked down the long uneven stairs together. He slipped out the back to meet up with the other groomsmen and she took her place at the back of the long line. Hermione and Ginny both gave her a look and she just shrugged them off. When the music began to play she closed her eyes and let out a long slow sigh. It took several minutes until it was her turn to walk out to the wedding ceremony site. A long white carpet lead the way between the crystal pews. Everything was in a snowy white atmosphere. There was no snow on the ground underneath the crystal roofing. The air was a toasty seventy five degrees even though they were outside. The flowers and hanging snowflake decorations were beautiful.

"Oh look at her." Tonks squealed loudly and received several odd looks.

"Yes, she is quite beautiful." Remus agreed and Lita blushed but continued walking. She smiled as she stood behind Hermione. She had made it through the entire walk without falling. Not that she would of. But now was the time when the littlest inconveniences would come into her mind. Fluer looked absolutely gorgeous as she came down the aisle with the biggest smile on her face. Lita stared longingly at the two of them as Bill look Fluer's hands as he said his vows. She had always wanted the perfect wedding with Edward before her saying I do. But it seems as though that could never happen. Even with Al coming into this world. Her hopes had not risen an inch. She had no way of knowing how to open the Gate or where to find it for that matter. And she had good friends and a new family in this world. Maybe it was time for her to let her past go. For good. Make one of those New Year's Resolution that Harry was talking about. She quickly brushed away a tear as it fell from her eye. Maybe she was running after something that just wasn't achievable anymore. Maybe she was being wrong. Maybe this was her home. Her new home.

"You may kiss the bride." They shared their first kiss as husband and wife and the whole crowd clapped. In a moment the pews were replaced with tables. The alter was replaced with a dance floor and band. The air was filled with the warm smell of food. Everyone floated over to their reserved seating arrangements and the reception was underway. A slow classical band played in the backgrounf of her thoughts. This genre of music never was her style. She was more the hardcore type. Rock music behind meaningful lyrics. A quick glance around the room gave her a piece of knowledge that she resented. Harry was no where to be seen. She stood up quickly and looked around again. After the Battle of Malfoy Manor as the Order was calling it. Lita was spending as much time as possible with him. Attempting with all her will to get back into his good graces. She knew it was going to take some time. But she was willing to wait as long as she had to make him happy again. He meant so much to her. And it was unbelievable to her that it took seeing him broken in a cage to make her realize this. He had burrowed his way into her heart with those bright green eyes. He was her best friend. Her new reason for living. Harry was all she had at the moment. He was her everything.

Lita's heart stopped as she turned the corner. Ginny had her arms around Harry. The two were locked in a passionate kiss. The red head jumped back and peered around the corner. Her hands gripped the wood of the wall. Her newly manicured nails dug into the wood. Leaving permanent scars in the all ready dead wood. A flame once dim was now roaring angrily. These flames were green. Jealousy flared inside her heart dangerously as she glared at the two. The once best friend Ginny doing her nails was now on the ground in a bloody pile. Many methods of murder and disposal flashed through her mind in seconds.

"Wait, Ginny." Harry pushed her back. "I just... this doesn't feel right anymore." He stepped back. "I just don't feel that way for you anymore." Ginny looked distraught. On the verge of tears. Yet Lita felt a smile creep across her face. She wouldn't deny. She was ecstatic! Ginny ran up the stairs and Harry turned around. With cat-like reflexes. Lita jumped back and started nearly crashed into each other as he turned the corner. "I'm sorry. Um, what are you doing?" She smiled inwardly. He was making sure he hadn't been

"I was just looking for you. I noticed you weren't outside and I got lonely." Which was the entire truth.

"I'm sorry. Bathroom break." Lita nodded as the two of them walked down the white carpet. She turned to head to her table when Harry cleared his throat. "Lita. Would you like to dance with me?" He was attempting to look anywhere else but at her. Lita smiled and took his hand.

"I would love to. Thank you for asking." At that moment the band began to play a slow song to her luck. He was nervous. His hands fidgeted. Not knowing where to rest them. She rested her clasped hands around her neck. She wasn't afraid to slow dance with him. They both knew the status of their relationship. No real need to be embarrassed about it. Right? "So? Still mad at me?"

"Yep. That's why I'm dancing with you. To make you feel bad. Then again..." He craned his neck away from the hands clasped behind his neck. "Who knows where those hands have been." She smacked him sharply.

"Glad you think I'd sink that low."

"Well. You did lower your standards to Malfoy." Lita raised her eyebrows and nodded slowly.

"True." The two giggled together. "So. Would my standards raise a little with Ron?" Harry's face fell and he stopped moving all together. "I'm so kidding. I would never go after Ron." He let out a long held in breath.

"Don't scare me like that, Lita."

"So, who would you suggest then?" She was in no way shape or form ready for another relationship/ She however wanted to see his reaction.

"Well..." He stopped and Lita's eyes grew wide. A huge glowing silver linx landed in the middle of the dance floor. It opened it's mouth and spoke in a deep, slow voice.

"The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming." There was eerie silence. No body spoke. No body moved. No body even breathed. Then there was a scream. Pandemonium ensued. Guests were sprinting in every direction. People were disappearing.

"Harry, what's happening!?" Her breath hitched in her throat as a large man with long matted brown hair and tight black robes appeared suddenly between them. The tall man grabbed her by the hair and kicked Harry backwards.

"Mind if I cut in?" He stared at her with a hunger that made her skin crawl. "I may just keep this one." The man wrapped his left arm around her waist and dipped her. Capturing her in a kiss. "Reducto!" A deep voice screamed and she fell to the ground as the Death Eater flew several hundred feet. Harry quickly grabbed Lita by the arm and lifted her up. "We have to get out of here!"

"Avada K..." Lita turned around and sent a strong fist into a cloaked man's face. Yellow lightening shot from her fist and the man flew out of sight. Harry stared at her.

"Welcome to the Magical World of Alchemy, Harry. This is what life is like in my world." It took no time to find Ron and Hermione. The three looked at each other and they seemed to be thinking the same thing. "What ever you guys are thinking about doing. You getter do it fast." Harry took her hand and Hermione grabbed onto Ron. The same pulling feeling she felt when she transported to the Malfoy Manor. She looked around once her feet touch solid ground. They were in the middle of a very snowy village. The bright Hogwarts castle gleaming above him.

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"This is bad." The four were sitting by the fireplace in the Gryffindor Common Room. Sipping hot chocolate from a nice house elf by the name of Dobby. "No Ministry means no stability. Voldemort has complete control of everything." Harry was pacing quickly.

"We're still safe here." Hermione reassured.

"But for how long?" Her new world was slowly falling apart. The government was under the control of the enemy. They were in a total state of war. In her heart she knew she would defend it to the end.


End file.
